Illinois EPA Conducts Waste Tire Removal Action for Units of Local Government in Randolph County

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois EPA acting Director Alec Messina has announced the completion of a waste tire removal action in Randolph County that took place on August 1, 2016. The waste tire removal action is a part of a plan to reduce the threat of mosquito-borne diseases, like West Nile virus and Zika virus, in Illinois by removing waste tires from public and abandoned properties.

“Illinois EPA is working closely with local governments to properly dispose of waste tires that have been collected from roadsides, public parks and abandoned sites,” said Acting Director Messina. “The Agency looks forward to our continued work on this strategy to protect Illinois residents and our environment.”

The Illinois EPA and Department of Public Health announced the coordinated Mosquito Reduction Strategy earlier this month. Under the plan, Illinois EPA will remove waste tires from certain locations across Illinois. The two agencies have divided the state into three priority zones for waste tire removals. The zones are based on where Illinois may potentially see Zika virus, such as the southern counties that typically have hotter weather. Zone 1 is the highest priority area and is defined by a straight east-west line going through Effingham and areas south of that line.

Randolph County, located in Zone 1, was the first scheduled removal action completed by the Illinois EPA.  The collection, which was conducted in cooperation with the Randolph County Highway Department, resulted in the removal of 110 tons of waste tires.  This represents the equivalent of approximately 9800 car/light truck passenger tires.

Illinois EPA is working with additional units of local government in Zone 1 to coordinate and properly dispose of waste tires collected from public properties, including roadsides, public parks and abandoned sites. Illinois EPA assists municipalities with disposal costs associated with the waste tires and partners with local officials on enforcement of new and existing waste tire dumping laws.

Illinois EPA's Used Tire Program is funded by a $2.50 per tire fee that retail customers pay when purchasing tires in Illinois. The Used Tire Program helps to ensure the proper disposal of used and waste tires at a registered, commercial used tire processing facility in Illinois. Some tires are retreaded and reused, and others are recycled into a variety of products and uses.  Most used tires in Illinois are shredded into a high-energy fuel supplement known as tire-derived fuel and are burned in power plants, industrial boilers or cement kilns for energy recovery.