Tennessee announces grants for waste tire reuse

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) is accepting applications for grants from the state’s Tire Environmental Act Program (TEAP) beginning Jan. 15.

The grants fund projects that create or expand beneficial uses for waste tires. Such projects include tire recycling and processing, using materials such as aggregate derived from tires, initiating research and development in tire management, using tires for alternative fuels or promoting innovation in infrastructure.

“One of the most effective environmental practices we have is repurposing waste tires,” TDEC Commissioner David Salyers says. “The process not only diverts tires from landfills and illegal tire dumps but finds new uses for them. We encourage Tennesseans to be involved in this process, and these grants provide important financial assistance to those who want to join the effort.”  

Tennessee produces approximately 6 million waste tires every year. TEAP has helped divert more than 6.5 million tires since the program’s inception. The Tennessee General Assembly established the Tire Environmental Fund in 2015. Since then, grantees have been awarded almost $9.2 million to address waste tire disposal in the state.

The deadline for submission of grant applications is April 15. There are no restrictions on eligible entity types. All organizations are eligible to apply for the funding.

TDEC will host a webinar Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. CST to learn more about the program, including eligibility requirements, available funding amounts and matching requirements. The webinar will also discuss the different types of projects that are eligible to receive funding.

Further information on the program is available online at the TEAP website. Information about the TDEC grants management system is available here. 

TEAP is funded through a flat fee assessed for the sale of new motor vehicles in Tennessee based on the number of wheels of the vehicle. The fee is $5 for a new vehicle with four or fewer wheels, $10 for new vehicles with more than four but fewer than 11 wheels, and $15 for new vehicles with 11 or more wheels.

These are reimbursement grants, meaning an applicant will need to have start-up capital to apply for funding. The minimum grant request is $10,000, and the maximum grant request is $1 million; there are varying levels of matching funds required based on entity type. Applicants must demonstrate how their project will improve or enhance beneficial end uses for scrap tires.