County To Maintain Waste Tire Drop-off Site

The county will continue to have a waste tire drop off location at Stone County Recycling and Sanitation, despite changes to state regulations surrounding waste tire disposal which took effect July 1.

The new regulations increase fees for tire disposal, fees which are usually priced into the purchase of new tires for the consumer. The regulations also require someone to maintain a manifest keeping track of the tires that are brought to the disposal. County Judge Stacey Avey said the county is handling that.

Used tires are managed locally by the state’s regional solid waste management districts. The tire board of District 2, which includes Stone County, had planned to reduce the number of pickup locations in the 27-county district from 27 to 12. This would have meant that the closest locations for tire drop off would have been Melbourne or Batesville.

Izard County Judge Eric Smith, who is on the tire board, said the county was able to retain a drop off location because, “The judge (County Judge Stacey Avey) worked with the board and the tire processor.”

Smith said that Davis Rubber has the contract for the district for picking up tires and disposing of them. Davis Rubber provides 53-foot box trailers, and every tire that is brought in for disposal has to be accounted for. Smith said that problems arose when tires were not accounted for, manifests were incorrect, tires were not stacked properly, and trailers were not full. He said that the reduced number of drop off locations was meant to help deal with those issues.

The fee structure for the disposal of tires also changed July 1. Tracy Wallis, Used Tire Program manager for the White River Planning and Development District, said that there was previously only a disposal fee of $3 per tire, usually charged to the consumer by the tire shop when a new set of tires was purchased. This fee supported the Used Tire Program, but it proved insufficient.

“The program has operated at a deficit for some time,” he said.

The new fee structure provides for an additional fee to be charged by the place where tires are collected for disposal, as well as a fee for the company that handles transportation of the tires – in this case Davis Rubber Company.

New fees for individuals dropping off tires at the recycling center are as follows: small tires 20 inches or smaller, $5 each; large tires 21-28 inches, $12 each; extra large agricultural tires, $28 each. Industrial tires are not accepted.