U.S. EPA Include Waste Tire on Solid Waste List

In the list of new non-hazardous materials for solid waste that was recently released by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), used tires were included in this list. In this regard, the American Tire Industry Association and the American Rubber Manufacturers Association were on August 3, respectively. And publicly expressed opposition on the 5th, saying that the US Environmental Protection Agency's inclusion of used tires for the production of recycled fuel on the “blacklist” will inevitably increase the amount of used tires and increase public health and safety risks.

According to the EPA's list of solid wastes, used tires can be used for renewable fuel production only if most of the steel wire is removed. Otherwise, they will be treated as solid waste. According to the new regulations, if the use of combustion energy efficiency is higher than traditional fuels. The waste tires used for recycled fuels also require companies to adopt a large number of emission control measures. Previously, the EPA has defined waste tires as legitimate sources of industrial supplementary fuels. EPA's own published data also show that when used tires are burned with recycled fuel, whether or not The removal of steel wires has a higher energy efficiency than coal combustion (12,000 to 16,000 BTUs/lb), and emissions are equivalent to or lower than coal.

In a public statement, the American Rubber Manufacturers Association stated that EPA does not have the right to classify waste tires used for regenerative fuels into solid waste, and that when used tires are used for regenerative fuels, steel wires will not only have no effect on total emissions, but also As an auxiliary raw material for cement production.

According to the American Tire Industry Association, after the implementation of the new proposal, if the used tires are recycled fuel, their combustion equipment must meet the more stringent emission regulations in Article 129 of the U.S. Clean Air Act. These companies will be forced to abandon the use of recycled fuel. At the same time replace or renovate the combustion equipment. The American Rubber Manufacturers Association also believes that a large number of control measures to increase the emission of waste tire regenerative fuels will inevitably lead to high extra expenses, prompting some users to switch to the use of coal and other low-efficiency, higher-emitting traditional fossils The consequences of fuels are the increase in the use of high-emission fuels and the increase in air pollutants; the dramatic reduction in the use of recycled fuel for tires, and the accumulation of at least millions of used tires directly in landfills, storage sites and even illegal dumping sites due to unutilized tires. .

Tracey Norberg, senior vice president of the American Rubber Manufacturers Association, said: "The EPA's proposed management system will destroy the US tire reclaimed fuel market and will affect the entire waste tire industry. Worse, it is safe and The management system that effectively reduces the accumulation of used tires will collapse. The EPA's counter-proposal proposal will cause environmental damage, and it will also lead to the unemployed of thousands of workers who work in the waste tire industry."

Dick Gust, the former president of the American Tire Industry Association, said that such harsh treatment of used tires with recycled fuel will undermine the balance of the tire's value chain and tires are likely to reappear. The U.S. industry is working hard to Used tires derived materials to find more high-end applications, but it is undeniable that the current U.S. waste tire use is still the main way out of renewable fuels.

The United States used tire management system is a successful example of the global rubber industry recognized environmentally friendly management system. According to data from the Rubber Manufacturers Association of the United States, in 1990, there were more than one billion tires piled in the United States, and only 11 of the new tires were produced that year. % has been reused. Now the number of used tires piled up in the United States has fallen below 100 million, and nearly 90% of the new tires that are newly produced every year have been reused. Of the 300 million scrap tires produced in the United States in one year, 52% Used as a renewable fuel for cement, paper, industrial boilers, and other utility companies. The Rubber Manufacturers Association of America believes that the EPA should reconsider this seriously flawed proposal and recommend that newly generated used tires be allowed to be used for renewable fuels. The historical accumulation of used tires was included in the solid waste category.