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Published on February 17th, 2009

Tires Pile Up in Wyoming Recycling Yard

by Trey Granger

Wyoming Tire Inc. was recently cited by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for having over 1,000 times the legal volume of tires ready for recycling, what the owner is calling “too much of a good thing.”

An image from Google shows the tire company's estimated 1.7 million cubic yards of materials.

A Google image shows the tire company's estimated 1.7 million cubic yards of materials.

Owner Dick Ayres stockpiled the tires in hopes to justify the building of a $6 million processing plant, which could convert them into a more marketable rubber material, crumb rubber.

The DEQ permit only allowed 1,300 cubic yards of tires to be stored, but reported that 1.7 million cubic yards were found back in 2008. Satellite imagery of the facility shows “a bold, black splotch spanning an area nearly the size of a football field and divided by several access roads.”

Wyoming Tire Inc. has responded by selling the tires to neighboring states, although winter weather has made shipping somewhat difficult. Ayres points out that all of the tires are candidates to be recycled.

While the most common use for recycled tires is tire-derived fuel (TDF) to serve as an alternative form of energy, they can also be recycled into insulation, boat bumpers, construction materials or the padding for playground equipment.

Trey Granger

Trey Granger

Trey Granger is a staff member at Earth911.com.

More articles by Trey


4 Comments

  1. Jeff Wallin

    posted on March 23rd, 2009 at 8:14 pm

    Trey,

    Thanks for the post. I used to have conversations with a gent out in Phoenix whom I believe was a managing director of Earth911….for the life of me can’t remember his name though.

    Any contact information as I have a solution I would like to present?

    Best,

    Jeff

  2. rae

    posted on August 23rd, 2009 at 8:17 pm

    check into “Earthships” in Taos, N.M.
    Mike Reynolds is building earthsheltered homes with used tires–has been for 40 years, all over the world.
    You are definately young enough to get involved. Most assuredly green enough

  3. Twitter Trackbacks for Tires Pile Up in Wyoming Recycling Yard - Earth911.com [earth911.com] on Topsy.com

    posted on August 29th, 2009 at 8:56 am

    [...] Tires Pile Up in Wyoming Recycling Yard – Earth911.com earth911.com/blog/2009/02/17/tires-pile-up-in-wyoming-recycling-yard – view page – cached Guide to local resources including recycling centers, how to recycle, pollution prevention and how help protect the environment. — From the page [...]

  4. ty

    posted on October 18th, 2009 at 9:42 am

    i have access to hundred of old used tire and am interested in finding a facility to take them for free or even better yet pay for them how do i go about this search

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