KINGWOOD — Scrap tire recycling could be available in Preston County soon.
Tim Davis and Michael Hovatter met with members of the Solid Waste Authority Wednesday evening to discuss plans for the service.
Davis said the proposed business will be on four acres in the Masontown Industrial Park and will consist of a 4,200-square-foot building with three box trailers to store excess tires. He said other storage buildings could be added later.
Davis said the process he and Hovatter plan to use will recycle up to 98% of the scrap tires.
“The tires would be processed into six products,” he said. “We’re going to produce material that can be used in car bumpers and asphalt products, to name a few.”
He said due to advice from his attorney he could not go into all the aspects of the project, but would do so later.
Davis said none of the tires collected will be left outside the business on the ground. Excess tires will be stored in box trucks. He said a nominal fee set up by the state Public Service Commission will be charged when tires are dropped off by individuals or businesses.
“We’ll work with the towns, the states and municipalities,” Davis said. “The process we’ll use will separate the tires from the steel and contaminants consisting of dirt, small stones and other items picked up by the tires. The steel will be recycled and only the debris will go into the landfill.”
He estimated the process would result in 600 pounds of steel being produced per day, and from 2% to 5% will be waste dirt and contaminants from the tires.
“As long as the tires are not put outside, I have no problem with it,” Don Smith, who represents the Preston County Commission on the board said following a vote. “I’ll draft a memo explaining we have no problems with it”
Davis said he would like to be processing tires by early 2023.
In other business, Jay Sowers, county litter officer, said Making Shine is doing well. He said groups like the Newburg Rotary Club, Houses and More and Friends of the Cheat have cleaned up trash on Pleasantdale Road, the old Hospital Hill and along County Route 26 from Albright to the Kingwood City limits.
He said he has been busy writing tickets for littering. One incident stood out as unusual.
“I got a call from a lady in Tunnelton about seven drywall buckets on the rails-to-trail,” Sowers said. “They were filled with human waste. I know where it come from and a ticket will be written.”
The next meeting of the Solid Waste Authority will be 7 p.m. June 1.
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