The Montezuma County landfill and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe will be recycling used tires this month by shredding them for alternative uses.
Both governments are renting an industrial shredder for the job, and the public can drop off their old tires at no cost.
At the county landfill, Dolores and Montezuma County residents can drop off their car and truck tires from Aug. 27 to Aug. 31 for free during landfill hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Industrial tires will not be accepted.
Limbs and grass clippings from private residences will be accepted for free all of August. The organic waste will be put through the shredder for the landfill’s composting program.
Only nine tires at a time, per vehicle, can be dropped off, according to state regulations. But residents can leave and return with nine more for as many trips as they want.
“It is an opportunity for people to clean up their yards of old tires and tree limbs, and it will save them money,” said landfill manager Mel Jarmon.
Usually, the landfill charges $2.50 to dispose a car tire and $18.90 for a truck tire. When they get a semi-truck load, they ship it to a tire recycling facility, and break even on the costs.
Used tires laying around are also a public health hazard because they are a vector for disease by attracting rodents and mosquitoes. They also are a fire risk.
Shredded tires will be used as an alternative daily cover at the landfill, Jarmon said.
Each day, new garbage deposited at the landfill must be covered, and it is usually done with soil mined from the landfill property.
But soil reserves are depleting, Jarmon said, so they obtained a special permit from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment to shred the tires for use as a cover.
“Its an experiment. It should make a good cap, and it serves a useful purpose,” Jarmon said.
The landfill is only permitted to store 7,500 tires. They currently have about 2,500 tires.
At the waste transfer station in Towaoc, there is a pile of more than 5,000 used tires that will be shredded, said environmental director Scott Clow. The material will also be used as cover at the transfer station and for other engineering purposes.
The shredding in Towaoc is expected to take place in the coming weeks, Clow said, and residents are encourage to drop off their tires at the transfer station.
According to the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association, more than 81% of waste tires were recycled in the United States in 2017.
Tire-derived fuel accounted for 43% of recycled tires. More than 25% was used as ground rubber and almost 8% were used in civil engineering.
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