LINCOLN, Neb. (June 16, 2015) — The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality has awarded $2.01 million in grants to fund 126 scrap tire collection and recycling projects in the state.
Nearly $646,000 of the grant money will go toward funding 30 scrap tire collections across the state, said Nebraska DEQ Director Jim Macy. The agency estimates that these collections will round up 7,075 tons of scrap tires from Nebraska homes, farms and businesses.
Other grants will partially reimburse individuals and organizations for rubber mulch and other recycled rubber products across Nebraska, Mr. Macy said. These include funds for schools and organizations to install playground mulch, synthetic turf fields and running tracks.
Nebraskans generate more than 1.5 million scrap tires annually, or about one scrap tire for everyone in the state, according to the Nebraska DEQ. The state funds scrap tire abatement projects through a $1 fee on every new tire sold in the state. That money goes into the Nebraska DEQ's Waste Reduction and Recycling Grants program.