CMA Supports House Bill for the Responsible Handling of Waste Tires in Virginia!

Good morning CMA!

Please take a moment to read Mike Kruse’s insightful article about CMA’s support for a Virginia House bill focused on the responsible handling of waste tires. It’s a great example of how we’re continuing to make a difference in environmental efforts!

For the past few weeks, CMA has been working to support House Bill 1916 in the Virginia General Assembly. HB 1916 would regulate the disposal of Waste Tires in Virginia. It would require tire haulers to be licensed by the Department of Environmental Quality. It would ensure that waste tires are brought to legitimate facilities for disposal or recycling, provide funds to clean up illegal tire dumps, and conduct research to stimulate growth in emerging markets for waste tires. 

“Virginia is in the bottom five states for waste tire regulation,” said Elliott Harding, one of the authors of the bill. “HB 1916 would align Virginia with Maryland and North Carolina’s rules to keep waste tires out of forests, fields, and rivers.” 

The bill’s lead sponsor is Delegate Amy Laufer, the representative for Albemarle County, where CMA’s Charlottesville campus is located. 

Liza Borches shared her thoughts before sending a letter of support for HB 1916. “CMA cares a lot about leading the way in sustainability for auto dealerships. It was disappointing to learn that Virginia is one of the bottom states in the country for responsibly disposing of tires after they come off of vehicles. I am really proud of our team, especially Courtney Powell, of CMA’s Volvo of Charlottesville, for leading the charge and trying to find better solutions for our state. Seeing pictures of illegal tire dumps is really disappointing and something that is not difficult to fix,” said Liza. “As we have learned more about the tire legislation and opportunities in the state of Virginia, we are really proud of CMA to be a part of this with Tire Solutions and Friends of the Rivers of Virginia. We are proud to educate our teams and make sure that tires coming off of our vehicles are not thrown in rivers of forests and are handled responsibly.”

For the past few days, the legislation has been stuck in a subcommittee. Hopefully, HB 1916 will make it through the Virginia General Assembly this year. If not, I believe there will be a significant effort to pass it next year. It’s good to know that CMA already uses a responsible licensed hauler for all dealerships in Virginia. The thousands of waste tires coming off of CMA vehicles in Virginia are accounted for by Tire Solutions and are sent to a pyrolysis plant where they are broken down into carbon black (for use in new tires) diesel fuel, and steel.