The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has announced a grant of $35,552 for the Hands-On Science Center from the state’s Tire Environmental Act Program. Located in Tullahoma, the Hands-On Science Center will also provide matching funds of $8,800 to build an eco-friendly outdoor area, named the Eco-Explorer Zone, utilizing approximately 1,200 scrap tires. The total project cost is estimated at $44,403 and will feature a rubber mulch playground and a vertical tire climbing structure.
“The Tire Environmental Act Program provides ways to retrieve old tires and repurpose them into community assets,” stated TDEC Deputy Commissioner Greg Young. “These grants help make that happen, and we look forward to the results that come from this process.”
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This project will expand on other outdoor facilities installed by the non-profit last year, also funded by a tire grant. The Hands-On Science Center aims to educate its visitors about recycling and sustainability through these new exhibits and their quarterly newsletter.
The Tire Environmental Act Program’s purpose is to select and fund projects that result in beneficial uses for waste tires. Eligible projects must fall into one of three categories: tire processing/recycling, tire-derived material use, or research and development. Grants are available to local governments, non-profit organizations, higher education institutions, K-12 schools, and for-profit businesses.
Tennessee established the Tire Environmental Fund in 2015. A flat fee based on the number of a vehicle’s wheels is assessed upon the first retail sale of a new motor vehicle to be titled and registered in Tennessee. This fee goes into the fund, which supports projects that create beneficial end uses for waste tires.
Since the fund’s inception, grantees have been awarded almost $9.2 million, diverting approximately 7.6 million tires or nearly 82,000 tons of scrap tires from landfills. The repurposed tires are used in various applications such as rubberized asphalt, tire-derived aggregate, tire-derived fuel, and granulated rubber porous flexible pavement, providing higher and better uses for these waste materials.
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