HAWAII SCRAP TIRE BRIEFING SHEET

STATE REGULATIONS
The Scrap Tire Management Act of 1993 makes tire retailers and wholesalers responsible for proper scrap tire management. The law also requires retailers to accept tires from customers, post signs to customers, and required the disposal cost to be built into the cost of the tire.

The law (Chapter 342I, HRS) imposed a statewide ban on the landfilling of whole scrap tires. Several counties have since followed suit by developing their own landfilling restrictions.

The law was modified significantly in 2000. All facilities that accepted used tires are now required to keep records of both incoming and outgoing quantities of used tires, and must submit an annual summary of such activity to the DOH. The law also imposed a $1 per tire surcharge for every tire imported into the state. All tire importers were required to register with the DOH, and pay the surcharge annually or quarterly. The $1 tire surcharge fund may be used for a variety of purposes described in the law. However its primary purpose is to fund the removal and cleanup of illegal tire dumps in the state.

The law was modified again in 2002, primarily based on input DOH received from the local tire industry. The law allowed tire retailers to bill disposal fees separately instead of including it within the cost of the tire, and modified the posting requirements accordingly. The law also imposed a collection ceiling for the $1 tire surcharge fund, to sunset collection of the surcharge at an earlier date. Collection of the tire surcharge may be reinstated if the surcharge funds are low and the DOH believes that additional tire cleanup and associated environmental assessment and remediation work are still necessary.

According to Chapter 103D, Part X, HRS, State purchase regulations may provide a price preference for recycled products. The size of the preference remains the discretion of the purchasing state agency.

MAJOR MARKETS
A local power plant currently uses TDF as a supplemental fuel. Permitted tire processors also transport tire shreds out-of-state for use as crumb rubber. Tires on the other islands are either baled and shipped to Oahu for processing, or are cut locally and landfilled.

STATE CONTACT
John Valera
Hawaii Dept. of Health, Office of Solid Waste Management
919 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 212
Honolulu, HI 96814-4920
Phone: (808) 586-4226
E-mail: john.valera@doh.hawaii.gov
HI General Info