Scrap Tires | Scrap Tire News | Archived Article

Minnesota's had a lot of "firsts" when it comes to scrap tire issues. Last month, they may have lengthened the list by one when the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) approved the use of tire chips as the lightweight fill material for construction of a private driveway.

In a Dec. 1, 1998 letter to Pinnacle Engineering, designers of the project, MPCA deemed the lightweight fill application of tire chips a beneficial use. The driveway is being constructed by First State Tire Recycling, East Bethel, MN as part of a new homesite.

"The end use described in the proposal designates the TDP (tire-derived-product) as a raw material used to produce a discrete, functional product," MPCA supervisor James Lungstrom said. "When used as described in the proposal, the TDP would no longer be considered a waste, and its use in the land is not to be prohibited."

Construction on the driveway in Isanti County was halted last February when MPCA staff questioned the use of tire chips as the lightweight fill material for the project. Last month, with approval in hand, contractor Monte Niemi, president of First State Tire Recycling, took advantage of the unusually mild December weather and resumed construction.

In the project proposal, prepared by Pinnacle's Eric Hansen, on behalf of First State Tire Recycling, Hansen said the project represents a beneficial use of the tire-derived product because of the need for lightweight fill material at the site and the superior driving-surface performance resulting from the low-frost susceptibility of the tire-chip fill.

Local geology includes soft, fine-grained soils, silty sand and silty clay. These materials are not suitable for most conventional construction projects, Hansen said. The tire chips will work like a snow shoe, suspending the road on top of the soft soils. With its thermal insulation properties, the use of tire chips also will reduce maintenance costs associated with frost damage.

The driveway base will be approximately 50 feet wide, 1,000 feet long and constructed in a U-shape. After the tire chips are placed and compacted, a minimum of 18 inches of native fine-grained silty sand or clay will be placed on top. The final 24-foot-wide driving surface will consist of at least six inches of Class 5 aggregate overlain by six inches of crushed limestone or other suitable aggregate paving.

The MPCA will conduct inspections of the driveway as it's being constructed, Lungstrom said. Niemi plans to complete the driveway by July and the home is expected to be completed in November.

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