SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has issued grants totaling nearly $11.1 million to 31 communities and nine businesses to fund projects that further the productive use of waste tires.
CalRecycle announced the grants Jan. 4 under its Tire Incentive Program and its Rubberized Pavement and Tire-Derived Aggregate grant programs.
The Tire Incentive Program grants reimburse recycling businesses based on products sold, creating financial incentives for manufacturers to competitively price and market their recycled content products, according to CalRecycle.
"Using recycled materials to make new products isn't always the cheapest option up front, but the long-term benefits to the environment and human health make investments like these a bargain for California," CalRecycle Director Scott Smithline said.
The companies that received grants for their products are:
- Environmental Molding Concepts L.L.C., Riverside, rubber tiles, $336,000.
- Herbert Malarkey Roofing Co., Los Angeles, shingles, $500,000.
- MB Technology, Fresno, roofing membranes, $111,352.
- Millennium Molding Inc., San Bernardino, tiles and other products, $100,000.
- Three D Plastics Inc., Los Angeles, traffic device bases and cones, $350,000.
- Traffic Devices Inc., Orange, delineator cone bases, $500,000.
- U.S. Rubber Recycling Inc., San Bernardino, sports floor surfacing and other products, $500,000.
- United Sports Surfacing of America Inc., Orange, sidewalk repair, rooftop repair and other products, $300,000.
- Van Duerr Industries Inc. (d.b.a. SafePath Products Inc.), Butte, wheelchair ramps, slip-resistant flooring and other Americans with Disabilities Act transition products, $200,000.
Thirty California communities received Rubberized Pavement Grant Program awards ranging from $34,845 to $350,000 for pavement projects involving rubberized asphalt concrete, which blends ground tire rubber with asphalt binder, and rubberized chip seal, in which rubberized asphalt binder is applied to existing pavement.
Napa County received $510,082 under the Tire-Derived Aggregate Grant Program for civil engineering projects involving an estimated 4,000 tons of tire-derived aggregate, according to CalRecycle.
"These public works projects help keep California waste tires out of our landfills and promote local markets for recycled tire products," Mr. Smithline said.
California generates more than 48 million scrap tires every year, according to CalRecycle. The Tire Incentive Program grants alone will keep the equivalent of 1.7 million scrap tires out of landfills, it said.