2001 Trash Cutter Awards Program Case Studies

Los Angeles County Department of Public Works: Most Innovative Program

• Program Description
• Program Summary
• Costs
• Benefits
• Contact

Program Description

One third of California’s waste tires come from Los Angeles County, where approximately 10 million waste tires are generated each year. The county has taken a comprehensive approach to this problem by creating programs to minimize illegal dumping, reduce waste tire disposal in landfills, stimulate the waste tire recycling market, and encourage other governmental agencies to begin similar programs. Efforts include the Countywide Rubberized Asphalt Concrete and Rubberized Emulsion Aggregate Slurry Program, the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Technology Center, the Waste Tire Management Program, and the Waste Tire Amnesty Day and Demonstration Project.

Program Summary

Waste haulers in the county’s six garbage disposal districts are required to pick up waste tires left at curbside along with other refuse. The county collects and removes all waste tires from public right-of-ways within its jurisdiction. In addition, the county holds a waste tire amnesty day event that offers residents ten locations to recycle their waste tires free of charge.

LA County uses two waste tire derived products, rubberized asphalt concrete (RAC) and rubberized emulsion aggregate slurry (REAS), in its road construction and maintenance.

RAC is produced when crumb rubber is blended with asphalt and aggregate material under specified conditions. When appropriately used on road resurfacing projects, RAC has many advantages over conventional asphalt. For example, RAC is cost-effective, saving as much as $22,000 per lane mile over conventional asphalt projects. It provides excellent long-lasting color contrast for striping and marking, is highly skid-resistant, and uses more than 2,000 waste tires per lane mile, thereby conserving natural resources and landfill capacity.

REAS is produced when crumb rubber is blended into asphalt emulsion at ambient temperature and used as slurry to repair roadways. Although the cost of REAS is higher than for conventional slurry, the advantages include an approximate 50 percent increase in longevity, color contrast for striping and marking, and high skid resistance. In addition, REAS uses more than 78 waste tires per lane mile, contributing to the diversion of waste tires from traditional disposal.

In conjunction with these activities, the county also conducts a public education outreach campaign to promote the proper management of waste tires and the beneficial uses of recycled rubber products. To promote the use of products made from recycled tires, the county established its second waste tire demonstration project, located at the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Recreation Area. Improvements using waste tire derived products were made to a walking path, senior citizen outdoor shelter, and twelve exercise stations.

Moreover, the county operates the southern California branch of the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Technology Center (RACTC), a cooperative effort between the California Integrated Waste Management Board and the Counties of Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its purpose is to reduce used tire disposal by promoting the innovative use of crumb rubber from scrap ties into roadway rehabilitation projects by providing education, training, and technical consultation services to local agencies within the state.

Costs

The county spends more than $7 million each year for the Countywide Rubberized Asphalt Concrete and Rubberized Emulsion Aggregate Slurry Programs. Costs for other waste tire programs serving the entire 9.8 million residents in the county total $500,000.

Benefits

In 2000, the county applied rubberized asphalt concrete to more than 125 lane miles of roads, diverting more than 250,000 waste tires from landfill disposal. The county also applied rubberized emulsion aggregate slurry to more than 282 lane miles of roads, diverting approximately 22,000 waste tires from landfill disposal. In the year 2000 alone, Los Angeles County road maintenance crews picked up more than 100,000 illegally dumped waste tires from public right-of-ways and more than 2,100 tires were collected from the amnesty day event. The demonstration project the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Recreation Area utilized more than 1,100 waste tires.

For Further Information, Contact:

Los Angeles County
900 South Fremont Ave.
Alhambra, CA 91803-1331
(626) 458-5167
www.888CleanLA.com