Grants available for scrap tire cleanups, market development, law enforcement activities

LANSING - . The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is reminding potential grantees that the department is still accepting applications for grants that promote and support the cleanup and reuse of scrap tires in Michigan.

Scrap tires pose a fire risk and a human health risk as mosquito breeding grounds. Through grants, scrap tires can be processed and used in paving products for roads, manufactured products and energy production.

The Scrap Tire Cleanup Grant is available for property owners to clean up old or abandoned scrap tire piles. The MDEQ will give priority to collection sites where tires were accumulated prior to January 1, 1991, as well as collection sites that pose an imminent threat to public health, safety, welfare or the environment. Local units of government and non-profit organizations are also eligible for funding for cleanup days and roadside cleanup grants.

The Market Development Grants are available to fund up to 50 percent of total eligible costs for projects that demonstrate new or increased uses of scrap tires in manufactured products. The MDEQ will prioritize proposals based on the amount of scrap tire material being used in developing the project or product, demonstration of a new use of scrap tire material and demonstration of a viable market for a proposed product.

The Scrap Tire Law Enforcement Grants are available to the law enforcement community for the purchase, installation and implementation of surveillance equipment used to reduce or eliminate instances of illegal dumping of scrap tires.

The MDEQ will accept Cleanup Grant Applications with all supporting documentation received on or before Friday, September 28, 2018. Market Development and Law Enforcement Grant Applications will be accepted with all supporting documentation on or before Friday, October 19, 2018.

To receive an application package for a grant, visit http://www.michigan.gov/scraptires, and select the appropriate link under "Grants," or contact Kirsten Clemens at 517-614-7431.