Lori L. Mavrigian

Managing Editor

Since joining Modern Tire Dealer in 1979, Lori Mavrigian has held several key positions leading to her current title as managing editor. In addition to handling the day-to-day operations of magazine production, Lori writes features, contributes photography and is in charge of several of the magazines departments. She also works with the magazine's National Advisory Council for the exclusive Ludwig Report surveys. She earned a B.A. in Mass Media-Communications from the University of Akron.

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Good vibrations: Chipping away at the scrap tire problem

By: Lori L. Mavrigian

Here's an interesting item from the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News: 250,000 scrap tires will be shredded and used to cushion the ride and reduce noise on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) commuter train line extension from Fremont to San Jose.

It is expected to take seven years to complete the 15-mile extension. The newspaper says "construction crews will dig down about two feet and lay an 18-inch layer of shredded tires, then encase them in fabric. The tires will be covered in gravel, with the tracks built on top."

The tire-derived aggregate costs about $150 a foot, which is at least $100 less than usual methods to reduce train vibration, the paper notes.

Let’s see, there’s 5,280 feet in one mile, so each mile will cost $792,000 in materials. So those 15 miles will cost $11,880,000, not counting labor. The other method would have cost BART at least $19,800,000 in materials. So scrap tires will save the transit system $7,920,000.

That’s a lot of money, and a lot of tires, albeit a drop in the bucket.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) reports there are 128 million scrap tires stockpiled in the U.S. This figure comes from the RMA’s report on Scrap Tire Markets in the United States, its ninth annual biennial report from May 2007 (you can find the whole report on http://www.rma.org/).

The RMA's numbers show that progress is actually being made to rid the U.S. of scrap tire piles. The association says that due to developing scrap tire markets, mainly tire-derived fuel and ground rubber applications, 89.3% of scrap tires generated in the U.S. were consumed in end-use markets in 2007.

More than 300 million scrap tires are generated per year in the U.S. (my rough estimate based on the latest figures available). So obviously we’ve got a ways to go before we run out of scrap tires. But it’s good to hear we’re moving in the right direction.

Related Topics: RMA, Scrap tires