Delaware was one of the last states to develop scrap tire regulations, and there was the issue of what to do with the stockpile of waste tires. Stacked waste tires are an environmental hazard. They can trap precipitation, leaving thousands of stagnant pools in which potentially disease-causing mosquitoes can breed. If a tire pile catches fire, it can burn for weeks or months. Scrap tires in Delaware are transported to Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia for recycling and use as tire-derived fuel. Scrap tires are also processed in New Castle, DE.
In spring 2020 staff of the Scrap Tire Program in Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) came to the Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN) at the University of Delaware on the recommendation of other DNREC staff who had previously worked with DENIN researchers. Nicole Hill, environmental program manager of the Scrap Tire Program, was looking for different ways to handle this waste stream, to better understand the pros and cons of different potential uses, and to identify potential future business opportunities in this reuse.
“The Scrap Tire Program is very small,” said Hill. “We have four employees, and we’re tasked with monitoring compliance among generators and also facilitating cleanup at existing tire piles, so our time to look at other things is very limited.”
“At DENIN, one of our goals is to foster collaborations,” said Jeanette Miller, DENIN’s associate director for interdisciplinary programs. “We try to connect faculty expertise, student learning, and the needs of our government agencies, all to develop more sustainable, economically beneficial solutions.”