Pennsylvania lawmakers bolstered the opportunities for increased
recycling and reuse of scrap tires and scrap tire derived materials
in the state with passage of amendments to H.B. 969 in late
1999.
The bill extends the sunset date
for investment tax credit for equipment for reducing, reusing
or recycling whole used or scrap tires to December 31, 2005.
The tax credit provision as established in the original H.B.
969, passed December 19, 1996 was set to expire January 1, 2000.
Up to $2 million in tax credits
is available annually to Pennsylvania companies who recycle
tires or tire derived materials and can show that at least 10
percent of the tires processed are from priority tire sites
identified by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
and that an end market exists for the processed tires.
Another amendment requires the
Secretary of Transportation to establish six demonstration projects
this year which use "asphalt modified with product derived
from waste tires for road repair and construction." The
projects are expected to test the performance of the rubber
modified asphalt under various climates and use conditions in
the state.
Additionally, the bill calls
for the transportation department to consider the use of waste
tires in "transportation-related" civil engineering
projects in the state.
Rules affecting tire collection
and storage addressed in the bill require the DEP to establish
a registration program for generators, haulers and processors
of whole used or waste tires that includes a manifest-type record-keeping
system. The DEP is also required to identify and develop a list
of waste tire sites with less than 10,000 tires.
The bill extends the state's
landfill ban on whole tires to include processed tires.
