Tire Roundup: New Tire Consolidation Program Saves VT Towns Money

At the March 9th MOM meeting, NRRA members gathered at the Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD) to hear Bob Spencer talk about several of their programs, including their new tire consolidation program.

Small towns usually take many months or a year to collect enough tires to meet the minimum requirements for NRRA’s vendors to pick up the tires for recycling. In response to this challenge, WSWMD generously created a new space with already existing cement dividers where its member communities could deliver tires for consolidation. This location is easily accessible for the NRRA vendor's truck equipped with a crane to pick up the tires much faster than by hand. Now district towns Dover, Jamaica, Readsboro, Stratton, Townshend, Wardsboro and Wilmington deliver tires to the WSWMD in Brattleboro to be consolidated.

They have already had one 19-ton tire pickup with their new program. It is a win/win for both the town and the vendor! The towns can recycle their tires faster than if they waited for local towns in their area to be collected by NRRA’s vendor, especially if the small towns don't have a lot of storage space at their facility. And the vendor has a one-stop pickup instead of many smaller pickups. Plus, WSWMD’s cost of recycling per tire decreased because NRRA’s vendor can offer better pricing for a bulk pickup.

WSWMD Programs and Operations Manager, John Fay, is pictured showing off their new consolidated tire program.

If you think your region could host a tire consolidation program near you, please contact NRRA Member Services at 603-736-4401.