Waste Tire Activities Along the Border

State law requires CalRecycle, in coordination with the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), to engage in California-Mexico border region waste tire activity such as:

Training
Environmental Education
Abatement planning
Tracking Waste Tire Flow
Uniform Application of Waste Tire Environmental and Flow Control Requirements

Senate Bill (SB) 772 and SB 167

CalRecycle must develop waste tire recycling projects that affect Mexico’s portion of the border region. These projects address the California-to-Mexico movement of used tires that are eventually disposed of in California.

Projects include:

Education
Infrastructure
Mitigation

Cleanup
Prevention
Reuse and Recycling

CalRecycle waste tire activities along the border include:

Research/Flow Tracking

San Diego State University’s tire flow study of the California-Mexico border region. Available in English and Spanish, the study report provides CalRecycle with recommendations for possible actions by California and Mexico.

Enforcement/Prevention/Flow Control

California Highway Patrol (CHP) assistance in statewide CalRecycle enforcement of waste tire hauling and disposal regulations. This cooperative effort is expanding through increased training of law enforcement personnel and waste tire inspectors.
CalRecycle provides training and publications about California waste tire regulations to Mexican tire haulers and generators. CHP provides the same information at border crossings.
- CalRecycle periodically sends letters to Southern California tire generators about applicable laws when giving waste or used tires to unregistered haulers, including unregistered haulers operating beyond California borders. This information covers waste tire hauler permit requirements, checkpoint participation, and how to report illegal waste tire pile locations.

Market Development/Reuse and Recycling/Infrastructure

California State University, Chico developed teaching materials in English and Spanish to educate undergraduate students destined to be engineers and decision makers. Freshman- through senior -level lecture material for 11 courses shows how to use waste tires in civil and transportation engineering applications.

Planning

In 2011 CalRecycle entered into a contract with the University of California, Berkeley for Technical Assistance for the Creation of a Methodology for the Development of a Model Integrated Waste Tire Management Plan Framework for the State of Baja California, Mexico. The final report is available in English and Spanish.

Remediation/Cleanup

CalRecycle manages a cleanup project for the Goat Canyon trash and sediment collection basins in Border Field State Park, San Diego County.
The City of San Diego’s Solid Waste Local Enforcement Agency cleanup of waste tires in the Tijuana River Valley and development of an environmental outreach program to inform border communities in Mexico of the health and safety issues associated with waste tires.