EPA Announces Improved Recycling Rate

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that the total weight of all municipal solid waste generated and disposed of in the USA remained constant for the year 2011, compared to 2010, but that the country’s rate of recycling moved upward, improving over the prior year.

The EPA reported that Americans generated over two hundred and fifty million tons of solid waste in 2011, a near identical amount to 2010. Of that total amount of waste, almost eighty seven million tons, or 34.7% was recycled or composted. The national recycling rate for 2010 was 34.0%.

The total waste generated per person was almost four and one half pounds per day, down from 2010.

The EPA  also provides recycling rates for various waste materials. Newspapers and paper materials have a recycling rate of almost seventy three percent. Aluminum cans are recycled at close to fifty five percent and glass containers and PET plastics are recycled at  thirty four percent and twenty nine percent respectively. The biggest year over year recycling gains were seen by aluminum cans and tires due to part to their high demand on the manufacturing market.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Even small improvements in your businesses recycling rate or waste disposal rate can result in savings when you compare year to year. The important thing is to track your before and after to see what works and what doesn’t. Every company has unique waste disposal and recycling needs so if you want to save money, you need to do what’s right for your business sector!

Nebraska Looks To Tackle Old Tires

The Department of Environmental Quality for the state of Nebraska recently announced that funds are being awarded to the state in excess of two million dollars to support one hundred designated illegally dumped tire sites and waste tire recycling projects throughout the state.

In the state of Nebraska, a one dollar fee is levied against consumers for every new automotive tire purchased. The money collected from that fee is then awarded to municipalities and not for profit groups who work to manage the stream of old tires by cleaning up dump sites and finding innovative, new uses for them.

Individuals and businesses in Nebraska are responsible for generating an excess of one and a half million scrap tires every year – or one tire per person per year. The grants funds will help rectify environmental hazards caused by current tire piles and prevent illegal dumping of old tires.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Tires are a necessity for modern day transportation but old tires, when left outside, can cause environmental hazards. If your business maintains of fleet of vehicles, it’s worth investigating recycling solutions for used tires. You might just find a regional manufacturer who could use those tires for a new product!

 

Scrap Tire Disposal Regulations: Alabama

If your business is involved with the collection, disposal, or processing of scrap tires in the state of Alabama, it’s essential that familiarity be had with the state regulations that exist since the passing of the Scrap Tire Environmental Quality Act. This policy regulates all aspects of scrap tires and ensures money for the cleanup of illegal dumped tire piles. To fund the cleanup of dumped tires, a one dollar service charge is placed on all new tires sold.

Whether the scrap tires are being disposed of in an approved landfill or if they are being re-sold for the manufacturing of recycled good or materials, the law details steps that are required to be administered and performed in order to stay in compliance with the state.

All receivers of scrap tires must be registered with the state and receive an assigned registration number. There are requirement for the keeping of records, storage, and how the one dollar fee should be collected and paid to the revenue division.

Businesses that are responsible for the transportation or processing of scrap tires must also apply for and be approved for a state permit. Permits are good for a period of three to five years depending on classification.

Using the one dollar fees collected from consumers, the state provides contracts to approved contractors to clean illegal scrap tire dumps. More information is available through the state’s environmental management department on how to be selected as an approved contractor.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Scrap Tires are a big problem but they don’t have to be is you follow the rules established and look for outside manufacturing sources interested in purchasing them to make new materials.

 

Advances Made In Sustainable Tires

Could the days of disposal fees to dispose of used and waste automotive tires soon be a thing of the past? Bridgestone Corporation recently announced that it has developed a tire created with one hundred percent sustainable materials. This advancement is part of the manufacturer’s commitment to fully adopting sustainable materials usage by 2050. The new tire was shown to the public and industry representatives at the Paris Motor Show held earlier this fall.

The tire is manufactured from natural rubber originating in the hevea trees and plant fibers. in addition to synthetic rubber and chemical agents that are derived from vegetable fats and oils as well as biomass.

The next step for Bridgestone is to develop the production technology needed for mass production. The company is hoping for a consumer launch in 2020. Bridgestone acknowledges that moving to sustainable materials will allow the company to continue production far further into the future than otherwise.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Science and technology is progressing every day and objects like tires that were once thought impossible to make “green” are now rolling in that direction. Are you staying up-to-date in waste recycling and sustainability in your business sector? You could be losing “green” every year if you don’t!