Tennessee Tire Recycling receives $750,000 grant

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has awarded a $750,000 grant to Tennessee Tire Recycling (TTR) in Lebanon, Tennessee, as part of the state’s Tire Environmental Act Program.

According to a news release from TDEC, TTR, a division of Rockwood Sustainable Solutions, will provide matching funds of $914,170 and use the grant to purchase equipment related to the hauling collection and transportation of tires between counties. TTR plans to increase its hauling capacity through the purchase of a truck, trailers and a mobile grinder to support counties across the state with more options for managing scrap tires. The project will cost a total of about $1.66 million and will enable TTR to recycle about 700,000 tires annually.

“TDEC is proud to support the business community in its efforts to implement environmentally responsible actions,” says TDEC Commissioner David Salyers. “TDEC is a resource, not just a regulator. We are proud to be a resource in working with our communities through the grant process while working with the Tennessee General Assembly to obtain the funding for grants that help protect our natural resources and grow local economies throughout the state.”  

According to TDEC, the Tire Environmental Act Program selects and funds projects that best result in beneficial uses for scrap tires. Projects must qualify for one of three categories: tire processing/recycling, tire-derived material use or research and development. The program provides grants to eligible entities, including local governments, nonprofit organizations, higher education institutions, K-12 schools and for-profit entities.

TDEC says the state established its Tire Environmental Fund in 2015. Upon the first retail sale of a new motor vehicle to be titled and registered in Tennessee, a flat fee based on the number of a vehicle’s wheels is assessed, and that fee goes into the fund, which is used for projects creating or supporting beneficial end uses for scrap tires. Since 2015, grantees have received about $4.5 million from the program and about 3.6 million tires have been diverted from landfills as a result. The tires have been repurposed for use in rubberized asphalt, tire-derived aggregate, tire-derived fuel, granulated rubber porous flexible pavement and other end uses.