CIWMB Press Room Archives

Tire Recyclers Get Financial Boost from State: $3 million in loans will expand businesses, create jobs, and recycle more old tires

SACRAMENTO--The California Integrated Waste Management Board today awarded loans to Golden By-Products of Merced County and Bulldog Rubber and Recycling of San Diego County to help expand their businesses and create 19 new jobs recycling waste tires.

“Helping California businesses put old tires into new uses not only helps protect the environment but also stimulates our economy,” said Board Chair Margo Reid Brown. “These loans will make more tire-derived materials available to meet growing market demand, and will help achieve the Board’s goal of raising the annual waste tire recycling rate to 90 percent by 2015.”

The tire equipment loan program is designed to help tire recyclers purchase new or updated equipment, enabling them to improve their recycling processes and increase the number of waste tires they recycle into new, premium-value tire-derived products. It is anticipated that almost 1.8 million tires--an estimated 20,500 tons of discarded waste tires--will be diverted away from California landfills annually as a result of these two loans. Golden By-Products expects to divert an additional 7,500 tons of waste tires annually, while Bulldog Rubber and Recycling will find new uses for 13,000 tons of waste tires annually.

California generates an estimated 44 million waste tires per year. Approximately 32 million waste tires (or 73 percent) are diverted through reuse or new products; the remaining 12 million (about 27 percent) are sent to landfills.

Funding for the loan program comes from the Tire Recycling Management Fund for the 2009/10 fiscal year. The tire funds come from the $1.75 recycling fee levied on each new tire sold in California. The Board receives $1.00 of each $1.75 fee, and a portion of the revenue pays for tire grant programs. The remainder is used for tire-related air quality programs by the California Air Resources Board. The Tire Recycling Fund is administered by the Board and can only be used for tire program purposes.

The Board approved tire equipment loans for the following businesses and projects:

Golden By-Products, Inc. d.b.a. Scrap Tire Company (Merced County) will use proceeds of a $1 million loan to expand its tire processing business and purchase upgraded equipment, including a second granulator to improve the overall efficiency and output of the existing tire shredding system. The new equipment will allow the company to expand its waste tire processing capacity to handle an additional 7,500 tons per year of waste tires (the equivalent of 750,000 passenger tires). Golden By-Products processes and shreds waste tires into tire-derived aggregate; material for civil engineering applications; ground rubber for loose fill applications; and crumb rubber for use in rubberized athletic turf, rubberized asphalt, and molded rubber products. Golden is located in Ballico, an unincorporated community in Merced County.

Bulldog Marketing, LLC d.b.a. Bulldog Rubber and Recycling (San Diego County) will use its $2 million loan proceeds to purchase equipment for its new tire recycling facility in Vista. The loan will finance a tire shredding system, processing equipment, and vehicles such as trucks and forklifts. This equipment will enable the business to recycle, shred, and convert whole tires into buffing and crumb rubber. These tire products can be used in landscaping applications, playgrounds, asphalt overlays, and sports fields. Bulldog is projecting to hire at least 19 employees and divert 13,000 tons per year of waste tires (the equivalent of 1,000,000 passenger tires).

The California Integrated Waste Management Board is the state's leading authority on recycling and waste reduction. It promotes reducing waste whenever possible, managing all materials to their highest and best use, and protecting public health and safety and the environment.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board is one of six boards, departments, and offices within the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA).

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