TDEC Announces Tire Program Grant for Memphis Tire Recyclers

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) today announced a grant of $987,827.50 for Memphis Tire Recyclers LLC from the state’s Tire Environmental Act Program.

Memphis Tire Recyclers will provide matching funds of $987,827.50 to expand its existing operations and create both a porous pavement installation operation as well as an Illegal Tire Dumping Mitigation Department. Memphis Tire Recyclers is applying funds toward purchasing and installing equipment and making facility upgrades.

The project will cost an estimated $1,975,655 and allow Memphis Tire Recyclers LLC to identify and collect approximately 150,000 illegally dumped scrap tires annually and process them for beneficial reuse in porous pavement projects. The company is committed to eradicating the aesthetic and health issues that are created by illegal dump sites throughout West Tennessee. The project would meet part of that need.

“We are seeing great advances in repurposing tires for environmental benefits, and this grant for Memphis Tire Recyclers is a great example,” said TDEC Deputy Commissioner Greg Young. ”Programs like this not only help clean up sites of used tires, they involve innovative new uses for them. We congratulate Memphis Tire Recyclers on this project.”

The purpose of the Tire Environmental Act Program is to select and fund projects that best result in beneficial uses for waste tires. Projects must qualify for one of three categories: tire processing/recycling, tire-derived material use, or research and development. The program provides grant funding to eligible entities including local governments, non-profit organizations, higher education institutions, K-12 schools, and for-profit entities.

Tennessee established the 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. The fee goes into the fund, which is used for projects creating or supporting beneficial end uses for waste tires.

Since 2015, grantees have been awarded almost $6.8 million, and approximately 5.5 million tires or nearly 58,000 tons of scrap tires have been diverted from landfills. The tires are repurposed for use in rubberized asphalt, tire-derived aggregate, tire-derived fuel, granulated rubber porous flexible pavement, and other beneficial end uses that result in tires being diverted from landfills for a higher and better use.

More information on the Tire Environmental Act Program can be found at this link.