Scrap Tire Disposal in the USMexico Border and possible Recycling Solutions in the context of the BE

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Scrap Tire Disposal in the US-Mexico Border and
possible Recycling Solutions in the context of
the BECC Development Process
Twelfth Forum of the Border Legislative
Conference El Paso, Texas, November 9,
2005 Daniel Chacon General Manager
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What is the
Border Environment Cooperation Commission?
Established under the framework of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) along with
its sister institution, the North American
Development Bank.
Highly specialized, binational agency with
responsibility to identify environmental
infrastructure needs and develop projects to
alleviate those problems.
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Geographical Mandate
The area of responsibility is defined as 100
kilometers (62 miles) on the US side and 300
kilometers (187 miles) on the Mexican of the
border.
This region covers an area of 750,000 Miles and a
population of 22.3 Million people
This region covers important urban centers like
San Diego, Tijuana, Hermosillo, Cd. Juarez-El
Paso- Las Cruces, Chihuahua, Monterrey, y
Saltillo.
This reality demands new strategic actions.
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Quality of Life
is what were all about
BECCs technical nature allows it to help plan
improvements to the infrastructure of communities
which ultimately translate to improvements in the
quality of life of the residents of those areas.
Certify environmental infrastructure projects
along the U.S.-Mexico border for funding by NADB
and other funding institutions.
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Nature of BECC
Totally integrated bilingual, binational staff
empowered to work on either side of the border,
on projects for either nation.
Transparency in all processes and total access to
all information regarding the projects and all
actions.
Unique international organization facing
challenges of developing infrastructure on both
sides of international border, involving two sets
of federal, state and local governments, and two
different cultures.
Partnerships established with agencies with
complimentary missions IBWC, USDA, CILA, CNA.
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Types of Projects
Water supply Wastewater treatment Solid waste
management
Primary Focus
Related Areas
Industrial and hazardous waste pollution Water
conservation Residential water and wastewater
hookups Recycling and waste reduction.
Air quality Public Transportation Clean and
efficient energy Municipal planning
improvement Water management
Expanded Areas
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Project Certification Criteria
Human Health and Environmental Need
The project must address a human health or
environmental need. There must be an
environmental assessment conducted. It must
comply with applicable environmental and cultural
resource laws and regulations.
Technical Feasibility
Is the appropriate technology for the project and
the community being utilized? Is there an
appropriate plan for operation and maintenance,
safety, quality assurance, training, and
emergencies? Does the project comply with
applicable EPA or SEMARNAT rules and regulations?
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Project Certification Criteria
(Continued)
Revenues must cover debt, operation and
maintenance. The Fee/Rate must cover all costs.
Applicant must demonstrate capacity to provide
service at a reasonable price, make capital
improvements, and provide accounting and
financial reports as necessary.
Financial Feasibility and Project Management
Community Participation
Was a comprehensive community participation plan
implemented and documented to assure public
access and participation?
Sustainable Development
The project must be designed according to
sustainability principles to assure the
protection and sustainable use of resources.
Water management and re-use are key requirement
to avoid depletion of this already scare resource.
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Technical Assitance
California 1.89 mil.
Arizona 3.31 mil.
Nuevo Mexico 3.37 mil.
Texas 11.06 mil.
70 comunities in the US 19.63 mil.
61 comunities in Mexico 11.06 mil.
Baja California 1.70 mil.
Sonora 2.73 mil.
Chihuahua 2.31 mil.
Nuevo Leon 0.35 mil.
Coahuila 1.10 mil.
Tamaulipas 2.2 mil.
30.69 MDD Approved
12/2004
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Certified Projects
105 Projects
California 11 proyectos 182.59 mil.
Arizona 12 proy. 106.22 mil.
Nuevo Mexico 7 proy. 52.65 mil.
Texas 38 proy. 655.88 mil.
69 in US 997.34 MDD
36 in Mexico 1.18 BDD
Coahuila 3 proy. 154.80 mil.
Tamaulipas 5 proy. 232.60 mil.
Baja California 9 proy. 497.19 mil.
Sonora 11 proy. 172.76 mil.
Chihuahua 7 proy. 195.08 mil.
Nuevo Leon 1 proy. 1.40 mil.
Estimated Cost -- 2.18 BDD Covers more than 8
Million people
12/2004
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Scrap tire generation

• In the United States, about 280 million scrap
  tires are generated per year (one per person)
• In Mexico, about 40 million scrap tires are
  generated per year
• Many more used tires are imported into Mexico,
  both legally and illegally, contributing
  extensively to the scrap tire problem

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Stockpiled tires in Mexicos border cities
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What happens to tires in the U.S.?
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What happens to tires in Mexico?
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Tire-derived fuel
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Tire-derived fuel (cont.)

• Most developed market for scrap tires worldwide
• Depending on the incinerator and primary fuel,
  tires can be burned whole or shredded
• Used as a supplemental fuel with solid fuels such
  as coal or wood
• Used predominantly by the cement industry, also
  by power plants, pulp paper mills, and steel
  mills
• Emissions profile is similar to coals, but with
  more particulate matter and zinc and less SO2

41 of scrap tires generated in the U.S. in 2001
were used as fuel
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Civil engineering applications

• Structural backfill
• Erosion control
• Landfill liners and covers
• Municipal sewage treatment
• Septic system drainage fields

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Civil engineering applications (cont.)

• Leaching from the metal in the tire chips is a
  concern
• Formation of hot spots in tire shreds used in
  fill projects is a concern
• Bacterial activity

14 of scrap tires generated in the U.S. in 2001
were used in civil engineering projects
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Ground rubber applications

• Rubber-modified asphalt
• Playgrounds and athletic surfaces
• Molded bound products
• Livestock mats
• Speed bumps
• Railroad crossings
• Roof shingles
• New tire manufacturing

12 of scrap tires generated in U.S. in 2001 were
recycled into ground rubber
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Ground rubber applications (cont.)

• Rubber-modified asphalt
• Largest use of ground rubber12 million tires/yr
• Withstands hot and cold temperatures better than
  traditional asphalt
• Lower life-cycle costs
• AZ study found 40 lower life-cycle cost over 25
  years
• Increased traffic safety due to increased skid
  resistance and decreased maintenance needs
• Decreased traffic noise by 4-6 decibels

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Other uses for scrap tires

• Retreading (for tire casings in good condition)
• Pyrolysis
• 40 carbon black
• 25 pyrolysis oil
• 20 hydrocarbon gases
• 15 steel

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Financial viability

• Viability of any tire disposal or recycling
  project is highly dependent on several
  project-specific factors

• Supply of locally available scrap tires
• Location Distance of tire stockpiles from the
  recycling center, and distance from markets for
  the end product
• Size of system economies of scale
• Labor costs of transporting, handling, and
  processing the tires
• Condition tires that have been in stockpiles
  may be too dirty or degraded for some options
• Fuel costs for TDF, cost of competing fuels
  such as coal and natural gas

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Health effects

• Tires provide habitat for vectors of human
  disease
• Mosquitoes
• Yellow fever, dengue fever, malaria, encephalitis
  and the West Nile virus
• Rodents
• Rabies, hantavirus, lyme disease, and the plague
• Transport of tires spreads invasive species
• Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)
• Yellow Fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti )

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Scrap tire pile hazards Fire

• Highly combustible
• Ignition by arson or lightning strikes
• 20 major tire fires annually in the U.S.
• Costly and lengthy firefighting efforts
  substantial clean up problems
• Sources of environmental contamination
• Air
• Surface water and ground water
• Soils

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Human health effects of open tire fires

• Nearby residents
• Emergency responders
• Acute and chronic health effects
• Irritation to skin, eyes, and mucous membranes
• Respiratory effects
• Central nervous system depression
• Cancer

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Overarching themes

• Critical tire management strategyto eliminate
  scrap tire piles
• Fire prevention planning and training is
  paramount for existing tire stockpiles
• All options discussed (tire-to-energy, civil
  engineering, ground rubber) have the potential to
  be certified under the BECC criteria
• A binational assessement is requiered for legal
  and environmental responsibility in the whole
  distribution process like tax evasion, the
  fraudulent misuse of the disposal fees paid in
  the US and environmental and health risks due to
  mismanagement of scrap tires originated in the US

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Disposal options in the Mexican Border

• Several Recycling options have been analyzed or
  developedrecently in the Mexican side of the
  Border Pilot Project of Pirolisis in Matamoros
  Canadian Pirolisis Option presented to Juarez
  Australian ground rubber technology presented to
  Juarez llancreto from Cemex with one street
  paved in San Pedro Garza, Nuevo Leon and other
  street paved in Tijuana, Baja California TDF in
  cement kilns in Baja California, Sonora and
  Chihuahua

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Border 2012 Goals to clean up of scrap tires
sites with funding from EPA and SEMARNAT

• El Centinela in Mexicali
• INNOR site in Mexicali
• Site in the landfill of Juareze

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Status of the clean up of scrap tires sites

• From 2004 to 2005 some 1.3 million tires have
  been disposed
• 420,000 from INNOR
• 400,000 from El Centinela
• 40,000 from 6 Delegations of Tijuana
• 550,000 from the landfill of Juarez

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Funding sources for the clean up of scrap tires
sites in the border (2004-2005)

• Semarnat 310,000 Dls
• USEPA 225,000
• Gov. of Chihuahua 40,000
• Municipality of Juarez 40,000
• Gov. of Baja Calif. 200,000