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Kandiyohi County to raise disposal fee for used tires

WILLMAR - It's soon going to cost more to dispose of used car and truck tires at the Kandiyohi County landfill. Effective Jan. 1, the disposal fee will be increased from $1.50 to $3 per tire to help offset the county's cost. "Our costs have signi...

Erica Dischino / TribuneUsed tires lie in a pile at the Kandiyohi County Landfill. Disposing of used tires will increase from $1.50 to $3 starting Jan. 1.
Erica Dischino / Tribune Used tires lie in a pile at the Kandiyohi County Landfill. Disposing of used tires will increase from $1.50 to $3 starting Jan. 1.

WILLMAR - It's soon going to cost more to dispose of used car and truck tires at the Kandiyohi County landfill.
Effective Jan. 1, the disposal fee will be increased from $1.50 to $3 per tire to help offset the county's cost.
"Our costs have significantly risen," Jeff Bredberg, environmental services director, told the County Board of Commissioners during a recent meeting.
Minnesota law doesn't allow used tires to be buried in landfills. So for many years the county has provided a collection site at its landfill and hired a private vendor to haul the tires away for recycling or proper disposal.
"It's a service the county has always provided," Bredberg said.
In recent years, though, it has become expensive, to the point that Kandiyohi County is now losing money on the service, he said.
It costs the county $208 per ton to collect, store and dispose of used tires brought to the landfill. The current disposal fee covers $115.50 of the cost per ton, leaving the county to subsidize the remaining $92.50.
Bredberg said the county disposes of 2,000 to 4,000 used tires each year, the vast majority from cars and light trucks.
Doubling the rate charged to consumers will allow the county to collect $231 per ton and eliminate the gap in disposal costs.
The last time Kandiyohi County increased its disposal fee for used car and truck tires was in 1990. The current $5 fee per tire for trucks weighing more than half a ton will remain unchanged.
It was important for the county to cover its costs yet not charge a fee that's unreasonable, said Larry Kleindl, county administrator.
"We want to keep it affordable," he said.
If the price is too high, some people might resort to illegally dumping used tires or allow them to accumulate to nuisance levels, county officials said.
According to an informal survey of local tire companies, most charge between $3 and $5.50 per tire for disposal, Bredberg said.
Bringing the county's disposal fee more in line with what commercial vendors are charging should also help reduce the quantity of tires being brought to the landfill by tire companies in search of cheaper disposal rates, he said.
Of all the consumer goods that end up on the scrap heap, used tires are among the most challenging. It's estimated that the United States produces 300 million used tires annually, or one for every man, woman and child. Only about 25 percent are recycled, typically into flooring, artificial turf and track surfaces, or mixed with asphalt for road surfaces. About half are incinerated.
The problem has eased since 1990 when there were fewer regulations and more stockpiling. In Minnesota, tire retailers and other businesses such as auto repair shops and salvage yards are no longer allowed to stockpile more than 500 waste tires unless they apply for an additional permit. They're also required to ship waste tires to permitted storage, recycling or incineration facilities.

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