2003 Annual Report: Waste Tires and Special Waste

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• Five-Year Plan
• Tire Manifesting
• Tire Grants
• Remediation of Illegal Sites
• Household Hazardous Waste Grants
• Used Oil Block Grants
• Used Oil Opportunity Grants
• Used Oil Nonprofit Grants
• Used Oil Research, Testing, and Demonstration Grants
• Used Oil Education and Outreach

Five-Year Plan

In May 2003 the Board approved the second edition of the five-year plan for its waste tire recycling management program as required by PRC 42885.5 (Chapter 838, Statues of 2000). The revised plan included the following elements, with funding allocations and performance criteria for each:

• Enforcement and regulations on waste and used tires storage.
• Cleanup, abatement, or other remedial actions of tire stockpiles.
• Research on alternatives to the landfill disposal of tires.
• Market development and new technology for used and waste tires.
• The waste and used tires hauler program and manifest system.

The main focus of the waste tire program in 2003-04 is to implement provisions of the five-year plan addressing enforcement efforts at waste tire facilities and on waste tire hauling companies, managing various contracts for research and remediation of waste tire sites, and awarding and administering grants under the Board’s seven tire grant programs.

Tire Manifesting

A major element of the waste tire plan is the development and implementation of a waste tire manifest tracking and monitoring system. The Board presented a draft manifest system at four public workshops in 2001 for affected parties. Regulations were adopted on July 1, 2003. At the same time, extensive training on the California Uniform Waste and Used Tire Manifest System occurred. The Board sent information about the new program-including the Waste Tire Manifest System Guidance Manual, manifest and log forms (haulers only)-to every tire generator, hauler, and end-use facility in the state: more than 10,000 locations in all. In addition, training sessions, both in English and Spanish, were held at eight locations throughout the state to assist the regulated community.

In July 2003, this manifest system was implemented. Approximately 4,000 documents are received at the Board on a weekly basis. Participation is continually growing. However, the many errors made on these forms are requiring a significant amount of staff time to address through additional training, either via telephone or on a one-on-one basis conducted by field staff.

At the same time that the new manifest system was initiated, two of the largest haulers in the state became participants in a pilot Electronic Data Transfer (EDT) project. This pilot project allowed these haulers to submit collected data of their own, as well as that of their customers, via the Internet. Because this project has the potential to greatly reduce the number of paper forms the Board processes and to provide more complete and accurate data, staff is working to expand the EDT pilot project to include more waste tire haulers.

Information on the Waste Tire Manifest System as well as the Waste Tire Hauler Program is available on the Board’s Web site at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Tires/Manifest/.

Tire Grants

The Board approved awards of more than $11.1 million under the seven grant programs as described in the waste tire plan for fiscal year 2003-04. These awards included:

• Waste tire cleanup grants.
• Waste tire enforcement grants.
• Local government waste tire education and amnesty day grants.
• Tire product commercialization and applied technologies grants.
• Waste tire track and other recreational surfacing grants.
• Waste tire playground cover grants.
• Rubberized Asphalt Concrete grants.

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Remediation of Illegal Sites

Two of California’s largest illegal waste tire piles, the Filbin tire fire site in Westley and the Royster tire fire site in Tracy, continued to receive Board attention in 2003. These sites are symbolic of the struggle to manage California’s annual toll of 33 million waste tires. Both piles were the scenes of catastrophic tire fires that occurred when environmental and fire safety regulations were ignored.

The remediation of the Filbin tire fire site was completed in the fall of 2002. In 2003, the Attorney General was successful in recovering $10,525,000 in settlements with major responsible parties. The Board will continue working with the Office of the Attorney General to recover the remainder of $17 million expended by the Board in remediating this Westley-area site.

Working with U.S. EPA and other Cal/EPA agencies, the Board completed a site characterization plan to identify the extent of contamination from oil and ash residues at the Royster tire fire site in Tracy. The Board, working with these agencies, developed a remedial action plan (RAP) for the Tracy-area site in June 2003. The remediation of the Tracy site began in March 2003. By the end of February 2004, 51,800 tons of hazardous waste has been removed from the site at an estimated cost of $5,246,000. The five-year plan approved by the Board allocated $8 million over the next three years for the remediation of this site.

Household Hazardous Waste Grants

In March 2003, the Board approved the scoring criteria and award process for the twelfth cycle of household hazardous waste (HHW) grants (FY 2003-04). Preference was given to applications that established or expanded HHW programs in rural areas, small cities, or underserved populations; established multi-jurisdictional HHW programs addressing regional need; proposed a new or expanded HHW program to collect electronic or universal waste; or did not receive a HHW grant during the last cycle. In September 2003, the Board awarded $4.5 million in grants to 21 local governments. This funding helps local agencies deal with the proper management of household hazardous wastes.

Used Oil Block Grants

In the ninth cycle of used oil block grants, the Board awarded $11.1 million to local jurisdictions in 2003 to implement used oil collection and recycling programs. These noncompetitive grants are based on population and are available to all California cities and counties.

Used Oil Opportunity Grants

In June 2003, the Board approved scoring criteria and an evaluation process for the seventh cycle of use oil opportunity grants (FY 2003-04). In November 2003, the Board awarded $3 million in grants to 16 local governments. The funding helps local governments build the necessary infrastructure to expand their used oil recycling activities.

Priority was given to grantees intent on promoting: 1) certified oil collection center use and re-refined oil availability at the centers through community-based social marketing (CBSM) or traditional marketing; 2) re-refined oil availability through CBSM or traditional marketing at marinas, off-highway vehicle stores, agricultural or airport supply distributors; 3) new or expanded used oil and filter collection programs from marinas, agricultural sources, and underserved areas; 4) new or expanded oil collection programs or facilities, curbside collection, or stormwater mitigation; 5) used oil/filter recycling publicity education programs using CBSM or traditional marketing strategies targeting at-home mechanics who change their own oil, improper disposers, and recent immigrants; or 6) did not receive a grant during the last opportunity grant cycle.

Used Oil Nonprofit Grants

In April 2003 the Board awarded $2.6 million in used oil nonprofit grants (fifth cycle) to 12 nonprofit organizations. Preference was given to grantees who use social marketing techniques to replace or supplement traditional media-based publicity and education methods to promote collection of used oil and/or filters; target underserved populations for the collection of used oil and/or filters; initiate new programs or support existing used oil/filter programs for boaters, agricultural sources, stormwater mitigation, or promotion of re-refined oil; and to applicants who did not receive a grant during the prior nonprofit cycle.

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Used Oil Research, Testing, and Demonstration Grants

In June 2003, the Board awarded $1.3 million in the third cycled of used oil research, testing, and demonstration grants. This funding was available to local governments, non-profit organizations, and any entity pursuing research, testing, and demonstration projects to develop collection technologies and uses for recycled or used oil. Priority was given to grantees who provided matching funds of 10 percent and who partnered with other agencies to take a multi-jurisdictional approach, as well as to projects that accomplish the following:

• Develop a technique, process, market, or product not already available in California that utilizes re-refined motor oil.
• Involve independent third-party evaluation of storm drain inlet filter devices relating to stormwater pollution from used oil.
• Enhance the development and effectiveness of equipment designed to recover oil from oily water.
• Develop cost-effective field test kits for identifying polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in motor oil.
• Develop a strategy to establish a pilot program for collecting used oil from independent truckers.

Used Oil Education and Outreach

Research conducted by the Public Research Institute (PRI) of San Francisco State University spurred the Board to refocus its used oil recycling outreach efforts. PRI determined that approximately 19 percent of California’s population consists of at-home mechanics who change their own vehicle motor oil. Most of these mechanics are males between the ages of 18 and 39 whose most common public activity is attending organized sporting events. In response to this research data, the Board redirected its 2002 used oil recycling outreach towards sports venues where at-home mechanics congregate.

PRI is further analyzing its survey data to better define the at-home mechanic target audience and determine better strategies for communicating the used oil recycling message. This additional analysis will yield a more accurate estimate of the number of at-home mechanics in California and delineate improved methodologies for obtaining such estimates.

The Board advertised used oil recycling at 10 minor league baseball parks throughout California in 2003 and surveyed the attendees. During the baseball season, the Board’s used oil recycling message was broadcast to more than 1.8 million sports fans through signage at ballparks, public service announcements on local radio stations, and ads in pocket schedules. Survey results at the ballparks indicate that 32 percent of attendees were at-home mechanics, and 56 percent were aware of the Board’s toll-free number to locate their closest used oil collection center.

A new addition in 2003 was advertising used oil recycling at 17 local speedways in California where more than 2.3 million fans attend events during the season. Using a method similar to that used at the minor league baseball parks, speedways hung billboards with the used oil-recycling message at the racetrack and fans heard recycling messages on local radio and during the races. Survey results at the speedways show that 54 percent of the attendees change their own oil and 43 percent were aware of the Board’s toll-free number.

To educate all current and future drivers taking a driver license test, the Board collaborated with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) by printing a used motor oil recycling message in their annual driving handbook. The advertisement is placed in seven different languages and circulates to more than 4.5 million drivers in California. The goal of advertising in the handbook is to:

• Promote the recycling of used motor oil and used oil filters.
• Increase the use of the 1-800 CLEANUP hotline to locate used oil recycling centers.
• Increase awareness of the need to recycle used oil and filters.
• Increase awareness of the environmental impacts of illegal disposal.

The Board is conducting research on behavioral changes of at-home mechanics that change their own motor oil. The CIWMB has contracted with the California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM) to conduct a CBSM pilot with the goal of increasing used oil recycling participation in three counties.

This pilot incorporates the four basic components of CBSM: identify the barriers and benefits to a desired behavior; develop an intervention strategy that utilizes motivational “tools” to convince individuals to adopt the desired behavior; pilot the intervention strategy; and conduct a post-pilot evaluation of participants' behavior to determine if the intervention strategy induced behavior change. The CBSM pilot is taking place in Los Angeles, Madera, and Napa counties.

The Board is also funding a CBSM pilot to increase proper tire maintenance behavior in San Diego and Yuba counties.

To close the used oil recycling loop, the Board actively encouraged public and private fleet managers to purchase re-refined oil. In 2004, the Board will examine the barriers to the sale and purchase of re-refined oil by fleet managers and hold statewide workshops to promote the purchase of re-refined oil to this audience. The contractor will also develop a re-refined oil distributor directory and distribute the directory at the workshops.

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