Republican Delegate Eyes Fixes for Tire Recycling

A Republican delegate got the backing of Democrats but not colleagues on his side of the aisle to increase regulations on tire recycling.

The bill from Del. Thomas Garrett, R- Goochland, cleared a House subcommittee last week. It would increase the fee the state imposes on new tire sales to pay for recycling costs, as well as require tire producers to register with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and to use a licensed hauler to transfer waste tires to a licensed recycling center or processing facility.

Currently, DEQ maintains a list of haulers and processing facilities that voluntarily have a license with the agency. What the bill attempts to do, Garrett said, is crack down on people who pick up used tires to sell them and then dump what isn’t sold into rivers and wooded areas.

Under the bill, all haulers would need to have a license and report information such as the volume and destination of their hauls to the state. The Office of the Attorney General would be able to take enforcement action in response to any violations.

“I cannot put a canoe in at Hatton Ferry and float two miles down to my family’s property without passing over hundreds of tires,” said Garrett, referencing the James River crossing between Albemarle and Buckingham counties. “And it’s disgusting, and it’s shameful, and it’s our fault.”

But Del. Robert Bloxom, R-Accomack, a tire store owner, questioned how the bill would actually be implemented and how effective it would be.

“The problem is going to be the ones that are throwing them in the woods are still going to throw them in the woods,” Bloxom said.

The bill would also increase the recycling tire fee the state imposes on new tire sales from 50 cents to $2. The funds are deposited in DEQ’s Waste Tire Trust Fund, which provides partial reimbursement to people for the costs of using waste tires or removing them from their property.

DEQ Director Michael Rolband said the fund used for the program had about $1.8 million diverted from it under the administration of former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Language in Garrett’s bill would prevent that diversion from happening again.

According to DEQ’s website, the agency has removed approximately 22.9 million waste tires from tire piles since 1993.

A study from Pew Charitable Trusts published in 2020 found that 78% of microplastics in the ocean came from synthetic tire rubber.

“It’s a problem that needs to be solved. It’s going to take a combination of solutions. And as we go through the regulatory process, I think we can get there,” Rolband said, although he noted the agency had no position on the bill.

The bill received support from the Virginia Automotive Association and the Virginia Forestry Association.

“Anything that we can do to curtail the illegal dumping of tires, and certainly to assist the forest landowners with the cost of doing so, we’re going to be in support of,” said Corey Conners, executive director of the Virginia Forestry Association.

by Charlie Paullin, Virginia Mercury

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