New York Scrap Tires Could Surface Nfl Fields
The largest tire recycling firm in North America is poised to establish three facilities in New York state that will recycle a total of six million tires per year. Recovery Technologies Group (RTG) Inc. plans facilities in Albany, Schenectady and Seneca County, which will create 100 new jobs.
Governor George Pataki said, “This company will help us resolve a major environmental problem, while creating jobs in upstate New York. Instead of sending old tires to landfills where they pose a fire and health risk, we will use these tires to create new products and new jobs.”
In March 2002, New York faced an illegal tire fire, with millions of tires igniting at an illegal tire dump outside of Waterford, about 11 miles northeast of Albany.
A 1999 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation report identified 116 unpermitted and unregistered waste tire stockpiles within the state believed to contain more than 23 million tires.
Based in Guttenberg, New Jersey, RTG last year kept more than 40 million tires out of landfills by converting them to new products. The company has provided recycled rubber used in National Football League fields, including Giants Stadium.
RTG president Martin Sergi said, “Our integrated tire recycling program will enable New York to recycle tires into a variety of useful products including sports fields, mulch, asphalt and molded products.”
Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings said, “On average, we collect 30 to 50 tons of used tires per year which have to be transported to a tire recycling plant outside of the city. This new facility provides us with a destination right here in Albany where we can recycle tires and offers economic benefits for our city and its residents.”
RTG facility in Albany will be an advanced tire recycling center that will employ what the company calls “just-in-time manufacturing” so that no tires will be stored on the site.
In Schenectady RTG will implement a new recycling process that will produce garden mulch out scrap tires.
New York Assemblyman Robert Prentiss said, “We now have greater means to clean up illegal tire dumps. Waste tires are a major health and environmental menace. Not only do they pose a serious potential fire threat, but they also are a breeding ground for mosquitoes and the West Nile virus.”
Provided by theEnvironmental News Service.
