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Kaufman County to pilot tire recycling program

Aug 19, 2008

Illegally dumped tires litter Kaufman County roads, picked up by precinct road crews for disposal.

Commissioners were offered a better way to deal with rubber on Monday – a recycling program through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

R.W. Beck, a construction company, will run the pilot program for the council. The company will set up a tire shredder and baler in the North Texas area. The bales can then be used in some construction projects.

The Texas Department of Transportation will provide a site for the recycling and will get as many of the tire bales as it can use.

No site has been selected and the program won’t start for several months.

Robert Bergeron, a consultant with R.W. Beck who presented the program to commissioners, said the county also would be welcome to the bales. He said they can be used to help stabilize road beds and slopes.

Pct. 3 Commissioner Ken Schoen said he thinks the bales probably could be sold to construction companies bringing in some revenue to pay for the program.

Tires are an ongoing problem for the county. Workers must spend time picking them up and the county pays to haul them off.

Pct. 4 Commissioner Jim Deller said his crews collect about a 1,000 tires a quarter, or 4,000 a year. Other commissioners said they collect about the same.

While the exact cost of trucking the tires to the recycling site has not been set, commissioners said it likely will be much less than they pay now. Pct. 1 Commissioner Jerry Rowden said hauling tires from his district costs about $1,600 a load.

Because the recycling site would be much closer, the cost should be substantially less. There is no cost to the county for the recycling program.

Commissioners also agreed Monday to set guidelines for idling trucks. Dallas and other cities have set limits on how long truck drivers, particularly 18-wheelers, can let their trucks idle. Long-haul drivers may let their trucks idle for hours while they sleep. The exhaust contributes to air pollution.

While the commissioners voted to set limits they said they were unsure how they would be enforced.



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