PA CleanWays of Huntingdon
County Retains Crown as Tire War Champ
With last year's devastating
loss still looming, this year Mifflin County vowed to take home the
Gold Rim Award. It didn't happen.
On Saturday, September 22, residents
hauled tires to two different Wal-Mart parking lots, one in Lewistown
and one in Huntingdon. As the cars and trucks rolled into the lots in
waves,
the Tire War was officially underway. By the end of the morning Huntingdon
County chapter of PA CleanWays volunteers had filled three, 40-cubic
yard roll-off containers with 1,009 tires (14 tons). Their competition
collected an impressive 958 tires. "We knew it would be close,
but not this close", stated Bob Whittaker, Coordinator of Huntingdon
County chapter of PA CleanWays. The 2007 totals doubled the numbers
collected in 2006: Huntingdon managed 446 tires to Mifflin's 186.
Both counties collected all these tires,
now what happens to them? After they are sent to a recycling facility,
they meet one of three different fates.
One fate of your tire is for use in agriculture.
Sidewalls are removed and used to secure plastic which covers silage
trenches. They can also be ground up and processed into mats, often
used in dairies for cattle to lie on.
Another possible fate is to chip the
tires. Tire chips can be processed to resemble the wood chips seen on
play grounds, only these chips have a lifespan of around 75 years, while
wood chips often have to be replaced after one or two seasons.
The third fate is fuel. Most all of us
have seen a tire on fire and felt how much heat is given off, yet we've
also seen the noxious black smoke bellowing into the sky. With modern
technology, companies have found a way to harness this energy while
also minimizing emissions from the combustion process. Research has
shown that one pound of recycled tire material generates the same amount
of energy as one pound of coal and produces around one and one half
times more energy than wood.
County residents can feel assured that
the tires they brought to the Tire War are being processed properly
and will never be found along the roadside. The Huntingdon County chapter
of PA CleanWays would like to thank Wal-Mart for the event location
and funding assistance, and Kent and Bill East for doing a tire cleanup
on Corbin's Road.
Next year, Mifflin County will be as hungry
as ever for a win over Huntingdon. Please watch in your local newspaper
for details about the 2008 event. Help us keep the Gold Rim Award where
it belongs -- Huntingdon County!
