SOUTH SIDE Scrap-tire cleanup completed at former recycling facility

Money came from the state scrap tire fund and a bond posted by the company.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has finished the cleanup of 176,000 scrap tires from a former recycling facility.
The two-month project cost $140,000 to remove tires and 20 tons of other waste from the old Adriatic Recycling property at 600 Jones St. off Poland Avenue on the South Side.
Adriatic operated a tire collection and processing facility until 2002. The state EPA denied renewal of the company's license, saying Adriatic failed to properly store and dispose of tires for extended periods.
Recycled Resources of Pittsburgh acquired the property at a sheriff's auction in June 2003 but also failed to correct violations, the OEPA said.
Violations included failing to apply pesticides to control mosquitos and failing to establish fire lanes within the tire piles, the OEPA said, creating a public health danger.
The tires were taken to a scrap recovery facility in Minerva, processed and burned with wood chips at Akron Thermal to produce energy. Other shreds were used in drainage systems under demolition debris landfills. Remnants went to a Minerva landfill.
Funding
Money to pay for the work came from a bond posted by Adriatic and the state scrap tire fund. State-funded scrap tire cleanups are supported by a $1 fee collected on each new tire sold. The state also provides $1 million to scrap tire recycling.
The city health department, litter control and recycling office and Mahoning County Recycling Division assisted in planning and management.