The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) opened
its third Biennial Tire Recycling Conference October 7 on
a positive note, thanks to Governor Pete Wilson. As the conference
rolled to a start in Santa Clara, the Governor in nearby Sacramento
announced his signing of an executive order and two state
bills which together give CIWMB's waste tire program new life.
The executive order
releases $4 million in reserves from the state's scrap tire
fund which in effect allows CIWMB to intensify its scrap tire
cleanup efforts.
At the same time, Gov.
Wilson's eleventh hour signing of AB117 extended the state's
25-cent per tire fee set to expire June 30, 1999 - another
18 months to January 1, 2001.
The second bill, AB228
signed by the Governor September 30 imposes fines for illegally
dumping waste tires and gives local governments authority
to punish violators.
Under the bill's provisions,
city or county agencies may keep fines collected from violators
if an attorney representing them initiates the charges. The
fines must be used for tire enforcement and cleanup programs.
AB117 also encourages
CIWMB to emphasize "permitting, enforcement, and clean
up" in allocating the FY 1999-00 Tire Fund. In addition,
CIWMB must establish a "working group" to assist the
board in identifying key issues that need to be addressed
in the tire program. The working group is also charged with
helping CIWMB prepare a report on tire recycling and submit
recommendations to the legislature by May 1, 1999.
Conference
provides information gathering forum
Board Chairman David Pennington
discussed how the report will be prepared during his opening
remarks at the Third Biennial Tire Recycling Conference. CIWMB
staff held several working sessions during the conference
to discuss various policy issues for inclusion in the report.
CIWMB is also planning to hold a series of public workshops
in late 1998 to gather public input in preparing the report,
Pennington said.
In addition to the workshop
on "Waste Tire Regulations" and the "Waste Tire
Legislative Initiatives," attendees to the biennial conference
could choose from a full roster of sessions that addressed
many current topics of importance to the tire recycling industry
such as "Effective Marketing Techniques," "Waste
Tire Civil Engineering Applications," "Financial and
Technical Assistance Programs."
The "Waste Tire
Recycling Technologies" session was segment-ed into individual
workshops on crumb rubber, rubberized asphalt, tire retreading,
cement kilms, cogeneration facilities, and pyrolysis and devulcanization.
