Ecology contracts tire pile cleanup in four counties

May 24, 2007

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has awarded a contract to a team of companies to clean up tire piles in Thurston, Lewis, Cowlitz and Jefferson counties.

Tire Disposal and Recycling, a Portland-based business, and L&S Tire from Lakewood and Spokane will remove approximately 381,700 tires from 16 sites under the $631,916 contract.

Ecology worked closely with county health districts to identify unauthorized tire piles in the region. Storage of 800 or more scrap tires requires a state license as well as a solid waste handling permit.

Ecology uses funds from the Waste Tire Removal Account established by the Legislature to clean up unauthorized tire piles in the state. Funding for the program comes from a $1 fee charged on each new replacement vehicle tire sold in Washington.

This four-county tire cleanup contract began on May 9. Work on all 16 sites is expected to be complete by September. Tires will be removed and hauled to processing facilities in Portland or Lakewood and separated for reuse, recycling or disposal. Most will be reused for energy recovery (i.e. burned for fuel).

"These abandoned tire piles pose a threat to public health and safety, as well as the environment," said Cullen Stephenson, manager of Ecology's Solid Waste Program. "They can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, nesting places for rodents or present a fire hazard. There will be lots of activity this year to begin ridding the state of the 3 million discarded tires marring our landscape."

In November 2005, Ecology issued a report identifying 5 million tires in 54 piles in 19 counties across the state. Since then, about 2 million have been removed, leaving about 3 million in the state to be cleaned up. The report (a pdf document) is available at this link: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0507043.pdf.