[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 46 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S3382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       WASTE TIRE RECYCLING, ABATEMENT, AND DISPOSAL ACT OF 1997

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, on March 14, I came to the floor 
to introduce S. 445, the Waste Tire Recycling, Abatement, and Disposal 
Act of 1997. Today, I want to make sure that the record is clear on an 
issue relating to the retreading of radial-type tires.
  It has come to my attention that my remarks regarding retreading have 
led to some concern on the part of those engaged in the retreading 
industry. There are approximately 1,440 retreading plants in the United 
States, and approximately 90 percent of the retreading plants are 
independently owned small businesses.
  In my oral remarks on March 14, I said ``the nature of modern steel 
belted radial tires makes it very difficult to recycle these tires into 
new ones. Once upon a time, old tires were retreaded, as we all know. 
You cannot do that with radial tires.'' While that statement is true 
with regards to recycling rubber from modern radial tires directly into 
new radial tires, it is not accurate with respect to retreading of 
radials.
  The Tire Retread Information Bureau and the International Tire and 
Rubber Association recently provided me with the information on the 
retreading of tires in 1996, when a total of 29.1 million tires were 
retreaded in the United States. This breaks down to approximately 4.2 
million passenger car tires, 99 percent of them radials; 7 million 
light truck tires, 80 percent of them radials; and 16.5 million medium 
truck tires--tires for so-called 18 wheelers, 89 percent of them 
radials. The remainder are off-road vehicle tires, aircraft tires, and 
specialty tires.
  My bill, S. 445, recognizes that retreading tires is an 
environmentally beneficial fate for tires that would otherwise require 
immediate disposal. Proposed section 4011(d)(1)(B) provides tire 
retreaders with an exception to the general prohibition on storage of 
more than 1,500 unshredded waste tires for a period greater than 7 
days. This section affirmatively promotes retreading by allowing 
retreaders to store at their plants the greater of either 2,500 tires; 
or a number equal to the number of tires to be retreaded over a 30-day 
period.

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