Tire and electronic collection event

Do you have old or unwanted tires or electronics? The Osceola-Lake Conservation District is holding a free tire and electronic recycling event.

The collection will be on Saturday, Aug. 6, from 9 a.m. until noon at Recycle of Osceola County, 531 E. Lincoln, Reed City. We ask that everyone stays in their vehicle while being unloaded. We also permit residents outside the district to utilize this event.

The Osceola-Lake Conservation District is excited to offer this event for the community. Almost every household has unwanted tires and electronics. The good news is that tires and electronics are easily recycled. Last year, 968 tires and 13,848 lbs. of electronic waste were collected.

Passenger tires on or off rim are accepted at no charge. Please limit 10 tires per vehicle. Please call if you have more than 10 tires, we may be able to accommodate larger loads. Semi tires will be collected for $15 each (these are the only tires we charge for). No tires over 4 feet tall or 12 inches wide will be accepted. Tire shreds will not be accepted. Tires thicker than 12 ply, including loader tires, airplane tires, forestry and skid steer tires, will not be accepted. Tires must be free of debris and water.

CM Rubber is the state-certified processor used for the tire collection. A semi-trailer will be on site with the capability of collecting up to 1,200 passenger tires. Tires that are collected will be processed by CM Rubber into drain field aggregate, landscaping mulch, playground cover and equestrian footing.

Household electronics are accepted at no charge. Items with a cord (TV’s, computers, monitors, keyboards, microwaves, phones, stereos, game systems, printers, etcetera) will be accepted. Units containing Freon and large appliances (refrigerators, washers, etcetera) will not be accepted.

Valley City Electronics provides the electronic recycling services at the collection. Valley City Electronic Recycling is committed to a zero-landfill policy for all regulated materials. Their state-of-the-art technologies ensure secure data elimination for all electronic devices.

Electronic materials will be disassembled and sorted into recoverable categories ready to be turned back into raw materials needed by manufactures. Recovered materials include plastics that are used to make new covers and cases, metals used in many new products, and recovered cathode ray tube (CRT) glass used to make new products or recover lead.

Recycling Benefits

Recycling scrap tires and electronics helps to prevent hazardous pollution, promote environmental health and conserve scarce resources such as precious metals. By reducing pollutants which are in the air, water and soil, scrap tire and electronic recycling can prevent harmful effects on the environment. Reusing some hazardous substances or using them to remanufacture useful products decreases the need for producing more hazardous substances, thus helping to save money and reduce pollutants.

Environmental Risks

Scrap tires and electronics can pose a significant risk to the environment. Tires and electronics have an ability to be easily recycled. Scrap tires are not good landfill candidates because they tend to float to the surface of the landfill because of trapped methane gases. Additionally, tire piles can pose a fire hazard and if they catch fire, impacting surface and groundwater. Electronics also pose environmental hazards. 80 to 85% of electronic products are disposed of in landfills and can release toxins into the air. Electronics waste represents 2% of trash in landfills, but create 70% of overall toxic waste. E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in America, according to the EPA. In 2019, The U.S. generated 6.92 million pounds of e-waste — that’s 46 pounds per person. In the same year, only 15% of the e-waste was recycled in the U.S. Simply recycling 1 million laptops saves the energy equivalent of powering 3,657 homes annually.

Funding

Funding for scrap tire disposal was made possible by a Michigan Department of Environment Quality (MDEQ) Scrap Tire Cleanup Grant. Funding for the electronics recycling was made possible by grants and partnerships with Cargill, Osceola-Lake Community Foundation, and Osceola County. Donations to help keep these events funded in future years are also greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, contact the Osceola-Lake Conservation District at (231) 465-8012 or email mark.sweppenheiser@macd.org.

Mark Sweppenheiser is the District Manager for Osceola-Lake Conservation District. For more information, contact him at (231) 465-8012, mark.sweppenheiser@macd.org, or stop by the Osceola-Lake Conservation District Office at 138 W. Upton, Suite 2, Reed City.

Copper Scrap Prices
Alternator	$20.00/CWT	0.00
#1 Copper Pipe	$3.24/LB	0.06
Burnt Copper	$1.04/LB	0.00
Bronze	$1.77/LB	0.03
#3 Copper	$2.52/LB	0.10

Tire and electronic collection event

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