November 7, 2007

The Department of Environmental Quality announced today that 403,273 scrap tires have been removed from a Genesee County site through the department's Scrap Tire Cleanup Grant Program. The tires were removed from the former G & G Tire Recycling in the city of Flint where they not only posed a risk to the environment, but to the public health of the community as well.

"Scrap tires pose a real threat to our communities, and to our families," said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. "The DEQ's Scrap Tire Program allows us to partner with communities to ensure that human health and our environment are properly protected."

Runoff from scrap tire fires can contaminate groundwater and surface water, and scrap tire sites are an ideal habitat for the breeding of mosquitoes carrying disease such as the West Nile Virus.

The successful completion of this cleanup project is the culmination of years of cleanup effort. The owners were first awarded a grant from the DEQ in 1999 to begin cleanup of the site, and subsequent grants were awarded in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005 to finish the project. Entech, Inc., a scrap tire processor located in White Pigeon, completed work on the site this year by removing the final 109,430 scrap tires.

The DEQ's Scrap Tire Program is charged with the responsibility of ensuring the proper disposal of all scrap tires generated in the state and the cleanup of existing scrap tire piles in amounts of 500 or more. Program staff regularly inspects scrap tire collection sites, processors, end-users, and generators, which include tire dealers and auto scrap yards.

Additional information about the DEQ's Scrap Tire Program is available online at http://www.michigan.gov/deq (click on "Waste" and then "Scrap Tires"). For more information about this Flint cleanup site, please contact Noelle Hartner from the DEQ's Waste and Hazardous Materials Division at 517 335 6200.

Editor's note: DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"

Revised November 7, 2007 by Pat Watson