Scrap Recycling Group Voices Opposition to Proposed US Rule Change
In the US, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and its more than 1,550 members are urging the Environmental Protection Agency not to adopt proposed rules that will have a significant impact on the scrap recycling industry – specifically the recycling of scrap tyres.
According to Tire review, the EPA has proposed an ‘overly broad’ definition of solid waste for nonhazardous secondary materials used as legitimate alternative fuels for energy. If adopted, the rule change would impact scrap tyre processors’ ability to manufacture tyre-derived fuel, a specification grade commodity that the ISRI says consumes nearly 50 per cent of all scrap tyres generated in the United States.
Tire Review reports the ISRI would like to see the ability to produce tyre derived fuel preserved, its preference would be to have these scrap tyres recycled and used in products such as rubberised asphalt, landscaping mulch and other crumb rubber products. “Unfortunately, due to the delicate balance of supply and demand, this is not always possible and in order to ensure an environmentally responsible alternative to disposal of scrap tyres, many of them are used as an alternative energy source,” the institute said.
The long-term consequences of the proposed rule change may result in an excess surplus of tyres and the reintroduction of illegal scrap tyre piles. Through its efforts, scrap tyre recyclers have reduced these stockpiles from over a billion tyres in the early 1990s to as little as 128 million today, ISRI said. “ISRI is in strong opposition to this new regulation that EPA is proposing,” said ISRI president Robin Wiener. “If this rule change was implemented, the effects would be devastating on the industry and the environment.”
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