Kennedy Takes On Tires

Taking a cue from Pat Widlitz, his retired fellow legislator from Guilford who succeeded in passing new state laws to re-cycle mattresses, paint and computers, state Sen. Ted Kennedy, Jr., is now focusing on tires.

This week Kennedy brought his first bill out onto the Senate floor and and it passed in a unanimous and bi-partisan action. Its aim is to find a way to recycle tires found in towns and cities throughout the state and in so doing create new jobs. The bill now moves to the floor of the House of Representatives. 

“It is estimated that more than 3.4 million tires enter Connecticut’s waste stream every year. We need to determine how to dispose of these tires in a way that protects our environment and creates jobs,” said Sen. Kennedy, Senate chair of the Environment Committee.

“Recycling unwanted items such as paints and electronics is a growing industry that has created jobs for Connecticut residents and contributed to our local economies. The bill we passed today seeks to determine the best way to similarly recycle unwanted tires,” he said referring to the Widlitz laws.

“Additionally, this bill will help us create a process to fight illegal dumping of tires, which remains a pervasive problem in many municipalities with no existing mechanism to address the issue.”

Senate Bill 869 will require that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) identify beneficial end uses for tires discarded in Connecticut that will lead to their recycling. Currently many of Connecticut’s unwanted tires go to other states, where they are used to generate energy.

“This bill will ask that DEEP consider the viability of establishing a tire stewardship program similar to the paint, electronics, and mattress recycling programs that have already been successful in Connecticut. These stewardship programs keep unwanted items from piling up in landfills, and instead put people to work recycling them for future use.”

The bill also examines the effectiveness of tire hauler license or permit programs to ensure that discarded tires are delivered to facilities that properly store or dispose of tires. This would help the state hold tire haulers accountable if they illegally dump unwanted tires in Connecticut.

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