Protecting Public Health and Unleashing American Energy by Facilitating Scrap Tire Pile Cleanups

The EPA is proposing to designate scrap tires — including previously abandoned ones — as non-waste fuel when they are combusted in cement kilns. This reclassification would remove regulatory barriers that currently treat such tires as solid waste, enabling their use as both a fuel source and an ingredient in Portland cement manufacturing under the Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials (NHSM) framework. A key revision in the proposal is expanding the definition of 'established tire collection program' to explicitly include abandoned scrap tires recovered for fuel use. This means abandoned tire stockpiles can be managed under the same regulatory framework as freshly collected scrap tires, streamlining cleanup logistics and reducing compliance burdens for operators. The rule targets two overlapping problems: the environmental and public health risks posed by large abandoned tire piles (which breed mosquitoes, pose fire hazards, and leach chemicals) and the underutilization of a recoverable energy resource. Cement kilns, which require extremely high combustion temperatures, are considered an appropriate end-use that ensures complete combustion. This is a proposed rule open for public comment. If finalized, it would amend the existing NHSM regulations under RCRA, aligning federal policy with resource recovery goals while reducing the regulatory cost of cleaning up legacy tire pile sites across the United States.

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