Utah’s Waste Tire Program May Be Falling Flat

Utah’s tire recycling program, which is funded by a $1 fee on every new tire sold, may be falling flat.

A recent legislative audit found the program’s goals aren’t being fully realized—Utah’s motorists are actually generating more waste tires than are collected for recycling. And in response, the audit is now recommending that the tire program expands the ways its funding of about $4.6 million can be used.

The Salt Lake Tribune has more details:

Back in the early 1990s, illegally dumped tires piled up by the millions across northern Utah.

Those waste piles are shrinking, thanks to the state’s tire-recycling program, funded by a $1 fee on every new tire sold. But a legislative audit released Wednesday found the program’s goals are not being fully realized.

Turns out, Utah motorists are generating far more waste tires than are collected for recycling— despite unused capacity among the four firms authorized to process the old rubber.

Meanwhile, the state’s tire fund has ballooned during the past decade from practically nothing to $4.6 million, indicating that it takes in more money than it spends on cleanups and subsidies that promote recycling.

Read the full story here.