Madison Lawmaker Ted Kennedy Jr. Kennedy Leads Passage of Environmental Stewardship Legislation

Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr. (D-Branford) led unanimous Senate passage of a bill that aims to determine a way to promote environmental stewardship of unwanted tires in Connecticut, protecting the environment and creating jobs in the process.

Senate Bill 869, An Act Concerning Beneficial End Uses for Recycled Tires and the Efficacy of Scrap Tire Hauling Licenses or Permits 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 Senator Kennedy, Senate Chair of the Environment Committee in a prepared statement.

“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. 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 the recycling of these tires.

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.

It is estimated that more than 3.4 million tires become scrap every year. Many of these tires are illegally dumped in towns and cities, polluting the environment, producing blight and forcing municipalities to shoulder the cost of collecting, transporting and disposing of the tires. Establishing a tire stewardship program would help take the administrative and financial burden of tire disposal off the backs of local governments. The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities strongly endorsed this legislation at a public hearing held earlier this year.

This bill also asks that DEEP determine 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.