The Florida Senate

403.717  Waste tire and lead-acid battery requirements.--

(1)  For purposes of this section and ss. 403.718 and 403.7185:

(a)  "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.

(b)  "Motor vehicle" means an automobile, motorcycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer, truck tractor and semitrailer combination, or any other vehicle operated in this state, used to transport persons or property and propelled by power other than muscular power, but the term does not include traction engines, road rollers, such vehicles as run only upon a track, bicycles, mopeds, or farm tractors and trailers.

(c)  "Tire" means a continuous solid or pneumatic rubber covering encircling the wheel of a motor vehicle.

(d)  "Waste tire" means a tire that has been removed from a motor vehicle and has not been retreaded or regrooved. "Waste tire" includes, but is not limited to, used tires and processed tires.

(e)  "Waste tire collection center" means a site where waste tires are collected from the public prior to being offered for recycling and where fewer than 1,500 tires are kept on the site on any given day.

(f)  "Waste tire processing facility" means a site where equipment is used to recapture reusable byproducts from waste tires or to cut, burn, or otherwise alter waste tires so that they are no longer whole. The term includes mobile waste tire processing equipment.

(g)  "Waste tire site" means a site at which 1,500 or more waste tires are accumulated.

(h)  "Lead-acid battery" means those lead-acid batteries designed for use in motor vehicles, vessels, and aircraft, and includes such batteries when sold new as a component part of a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft, but not when sold to recycle components.

(i)  "Indoor" means within a structure which excludes rain and public access and would control air flows in the event of a fire.

(j)  "Processed tire" means a tire that has been treated mechanically, chemically, or thermally so that the resulting material is a marketable product or is suitable for proper disposal.

(k)  "Used tire" means a waste tire which has a minimum tread depth of ³/₃₂ inch or greater and is suitable for use on a motor vehicle.

(2)  The owner or operator of any waste tire site shall provide the department with information concerning the site's location, size, and the approximate number of waste tires that are accumulated at the site and shall initiate steps to comply with subsection (3).

(3)(a)  A person may not maintain a waste tire site unless such site is:

1.  An integral part of the person's permitted waste tire processing facility; or

2.  Used for the storage of waste tires prior to processing and is located at a permitted solid waste management facility.

(b)  It is unlawful for any person to dispose of waste tires or processed tires in the state except at a permitted solid waste management facility. Collection or storage of waste tires at a permitted waste tire processing facility or waste tire collection center prior to processing or use does not constitute disposal, provided that the collection and storage complies with rules established by the department.

(c)  Whole waste tires may not be deposited in a landfill as a method of ultimate disposal.

(d)  A person may not contract with a waste tire collector for the transportation, disposal, or processing of waste tires unless the collector is registered with the department or exempt from requirements provided under this section. Any person who contracts with a waste tire collector for the transportation of more than 25 waste tires per month from a single business location must maintain records for that location and make them available for review by the department or by law enforcement officers, which records must contain the date when the tires were transported, the quantity of tires, the registration number of the collector, and the name of the driver.

(4)  The department shall adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this section and s. 403.718 Such rules shall:

(a)  Provide for the administration or revocation of waste tire processing facility permits, including mobile processor permits;

(b)  Provide for the administration or revocation of waste tire collector registrations, the fees for which may not exceed $50 per vehicle registered annually;

(c)  Provide for the administration or revocation of waste tire collection center permits, the fee for which may not exceed $250 annually;

(d)  Set standards, including financial assurance standards, for waste tire processing facilities and associated waste tire sites, waste tire collection centers, waste tire collectors, and for the storage of waste tires and processed tires, including storage indoors;

(e)  The department may by rule exempt not-for-hire waste tire collectors and processing facilities from financial assurance requirements;

(f)  Authorize the final disposal of waste tires at a permitted solid waste disposal facility provided the tires have been cut into sufficiently small parts to assure their proper disposal; and

(g)  Allow waste tire material which has been cut into sufficiently small parts to be used as daily cover material for a landfill.

(5)  A permit is not required for tire storage at:

(a)  A tire retreading business where fewer than 1,500 waste tires are kept on the business premises;

(b)  A business that, in the ordinary course of business, removes tires from motor vehicles if fewer than 1,500 of these tires are kept on the business premises; or

(c)  A retail tire-selling business which is serving as a waste tire collection center if fewer than 1,500 waste tires are kept on the business premises.

(6)(a)  The department shall encourage the voluntary establishment of waste tire collection centers at retail tire-selling businesses, waste tire processing facilities, and solid waste disposal facilities, to be open to the public for the deposit of waste tires.

(b)  The department is authorized to establish an incentives program for individuals to encourage them to return their waste tires to a waste tire collection center. The incentives used by the department may involve the use of discount or prize coupons, prize drawings, promotional giveaways, or other activities the department determines will promote collection, reuse, volume reduction, and proper disposal of waste tires.

(c)  The department may contract with a promotion company to administer the incentives program.

History.--s. 41, ch. 88-130; s. 6, ch. 89-171; s. 4, ch. 90-332; s. 120, ch. 91-112; s. 12, ch. 92-290; s. 26, ch. 93-207; s. 403, ch. 94-356; s. 5, ch. 99-215; s. 1, ch. 99-281; s. 9, ch. 2002-291.