COLORADO SCRAP TIRE BRIEFING SHEET

STATE REGULATIONS
Scrap tire regulations for storage, disposal and processing facilities are found in Section 10 of state law, 6CCR 1007-2 Part A, the Colorado Regulations Pertaining to Solid Waste Disposal Sites & Facilities. These regulations:

o Require all scrap tire recycling facilities to have a certificate of designation for a solid waste facilities;
o Require operators of a scrap tire disposal facility to submit a plan for approval by the CO Dept. of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE), which describes activities, equipment to be used, and inventory-tracking mechanism. As well, operators must submit annual reports on the amounts of scrap tires received at the facility, and the amounts recycled, disposal on-site, and shipped off-site;
o Address maintenance of on-site roads, litter collection, fencing, signage, and on-site telephones;
o Require facilities to have operating fire lanes and emergency readiness, and to report a fire or other emergency to CDPHE and the local health department, with details on causes, and corrective action; and
o Requires tire recycling and disposal facilities to have an attendant.

CRS 25-17-202 establishes the Colorado waste tire recycling development fee and the Waste Tire Recycling Development Cash Fund, and encourages source reduction and market development. After standard administrative costs, these monies go to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, which uses it for giving out grants from its Advanced Technology Fund on recycling and waste-related research. During the 2007 legislative session, SB 182 created the Higher Education Competitive Research Authority and the Innovative Higher Education Research Fund funded by revenue transferred from the Waste Tire Recycling Development Cash Fund and the Advanced Technology Fund located in the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE).  These two programs had historically been funded by $0.25 of the $1.00 waste tire fee collected by retailers. SB 182 redirected these funds to be used for matching grants for federally-sponsored research projects at certain state higher education institutions.  Under the bill, the Advanced Technology Fund will now be administered by the Pollution Prevention Advisory Board (PPAB).  Sixty percent of the $0.25 ($0.15) will now be transferred to the Advanced Technology Fund to be administered by the PPAB.  The remaining forty percent ($0.10) will be transferred to the Higher Education Research Fund still housed at CCHE.  The PPAB in required to expend moneys in the Advanced Technology Fund to finance research that will “increase or improve recycling techniques and technology or create marketable uses for discarded materials, including strategies pertaining to waste tires, and address problems caused by inappropriate disposal of solid waste materials, including waste tire stockpiles.”

Also during the 2007 legislative session, HB 1288 increased the $1.00 per tire waste tire fee by $0.50 per tire in order to fund the Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Fund (RREO), a new program created in the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE).  The intent of the legislation, however, is to “assist the state in achieving its potential in recycling materials, materially advance economic development and job growth” to be achieved largely through grants, loans and rebates for recycling and resource conservation. Additionally, the bill increased the Solid Waste User Fee paid by solid waste facility operators to assist in funding the new recycling program.  The program will “sunset” on July 1, 2010.  The final bill direct $0.25 of the $0.50 waste tire fee increase to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) Waste Tire Clean-up Fund (C.R.S. 24-32-114(1)(a)).  It also reallocated 50% ($0.125) of the new $0.25 waste tire fee to the DOLA Clean-up Fund from the proposed 85% to the Processors and End Users Fund (C.R.S. 24-32-114(1)(c)), and required PPAB to specifically consider waste tire stockpile reduction when evaluating and awarding grants to applicants.

MAJOR MARKETS
One cement kiln currently uses TDF as a supplemental fuel. A ground rubber producer markets patented soil amendment products to recreational and municipal uses. Several brokers supply ground rubber for use in roadway crack sealant products. A number of companies shred tires and sell them for uses such as alternate daily cover for landfills, soil reclamation projects, and other uses. Another company bales tires for uses such as construction material and for use on ranches. A pilot project by the CDPHE is expected to be complete in 2003, and approval is anticipated for the use of shredded tires in septic systems.

STATE CONTACT
David Snapp
Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment Protection
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver, CO 80246-1530
Phone: (303) 692-3425
E-mail: david.snapp@state.co.us
CO General Info