The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has announced that Friendly Environment will receive a $50,000 grant under the state’s Tire Environmental Act Program. Friendly Environment, which specializes in tire processing and sustainable erosion and sediment control, will match the grant with an additional $50,000 to purchase equipment necessary for enhancing its scrap tire processing operations. The new equipment, costing a total of $100,000, is expected to improve the efficiency of the company’s shredding operations and boost production.
TDEC Deputy Commissioner Greg Young commented, “The Tire Environmental Act Program provides ways to retrieve old tires and repurpose them into community assets. These grants help make that happen, and we look forward to the results that come from this process.”
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Friendly Environment began its scrap tire processing operations in 2020 with an initial tire grant. Since then, the company has shredded over 600,000 scrap tires, utilizing the rubber chips to create erosion control products.
The Tire Environmental Act Program aims to fund projects that result in beneficial uses for waste tires, with projects falling into one of three categories: tire processing/recycling, tire-derived material use, or research and development. Eligible entities for the grant include local governments, non-profit organizations, higher education institutions, K-12 schools, and for-profit businesses.
Tennessee established the Tire Environmental Fund in 2015. This fund is supported by a flat fee assessed on the first retail sale of a new motor vehicle in the state, based on the number of the vehicle’s wheels. The fund is dedicated to projects that create or support beneficial end uses for waste tires.
Since its inception, the Tire Environmental Act Program has awarded nearly $9.2 million in grants, diverting approximately 7.6 million tires, or nearly 82,000 tons of scrap tires, from landfills. The repurposed tires are used in applications such as rubberized asphalt, tire-derived aggregate, tire-derived fuel, and other beneficial end uses, promoting a higher and better use for waste tires.
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