How does tire stockpiling hamper legal disposal?
A legal scrap tire disposal operation must charge about $1.00 for transportation, processing, and marketing a passenger tire. An illegal tire dump may charge as little as $.25 per tire since most illegal tire dumps have no overhead costs for the handling and processing of the tires. What is the market value of a scrap tire? One scrap tire shredded into boiler fuel can be sold for about $.50. What is the potential of a tire pile burning? Each year, a number of tire stockpiles in the United States are ignited by arsonists or lightning. During 1996, there were two stockpile fires in Maine that burned about 1600 tons of scrap tires. Depending on wind conditions at the location of a large tire stockpile fire, the DEP expects unhealthful levels of soot will fall out over a thirty mile area around the fire. Moreover, a fire at a large pile will likely burn for weeks with the varying wind pushing the smoke and soot in all directions. A large scrap tire pile that is fully burning probably canno
