PRESS RELEASE
from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy

For more information,contact
Carla Felix (402) 471-4223,
Amanda Woita (402) 471-4243,
Nathanael Urie (402) 471-4245, or		 For Immediate Release
June 12, 2015

More Than $2 Million Awarded For Tire Collection, Recycling Projects


Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality Director Jim Macy announced today that the state is awarding $2.01 million to support 126 tire recycling and cleanup projects across the state.

Nebraskans generate more than one and a half million scrap tires each year, about one tire for every person in the state. The grants are part of NDEQ’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Grants program, and are funded by a $1 fee on new tires purchased in Nebraska.

"These grants will focus on effective methods of dealing with scrap tires and promoting their use in new products,” Macy said. “We’re supporting local efforts to clean up tire piles and conduct community scrap tire collections. These efforts help prevent health and environmental problems by preventing tires from accumulating in piles across the state.”

In addition, grants will partially reimburse individuals and organizations for rubber mulch and other new products that were made from scrap tires, Macy said.

This year, $645,964 in grants was awarded to cities, counties and natural resources districts to conduct 30 scrap tire collections. It is estimated that these events will clean up an estimated 7,075 tons of scrap tires from Nebraska homes, farms and businesses.

Funds will also be used by schools and organizations across the state to provide partial reimbursement for playground mulch, synthetic turf fields, running tracks, and other recycled rubber projects.

Below is a listing of the 2015 Waste Reduction and Recycling Tire Grants.


Applicant Name and City
Project Description
Amount Awarded
All Saints Catholic School and Preschool (Holdrege)
50% reimbursement of 44,000 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$3,750
Amherst Public School (Amherst)
50% reimbursement of 19,500 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$2,909
Aurora Public Schools (Aurora)
25% reimbursement of rubber playground mats.
$7,840
Aurora Public Schools (Aurora)
50% reimbursement of 13,650 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$1,939
Beth El Synagogue (Omaha)
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles.
$3,582
Blue Hill Community Schools (Blue Hills)
50% reimbursement of 76,050 pounds of rubber playground mulch and 25% reimbursement of three swing mats.
$11,015
Bruckman Rubber Co. (Hastings)
50% reimbursement of 15,547 pounds of crumb rubber used for manufacturing.
$1,489
Butler County (David City)
200-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$18,040
Cass County Department of Roads (Plattsmouth)
150-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$11,940
Cathedral the Risen Christ (Lincoln)
50% reimbursement of 56,550 pounds of rubber playground mulch and 25% of 5 rubber swing mats.
$8,400
Cedar County (Hartington)
275-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$25,506
Central Valley Public Schools (Scotia)
50% reimbursement of 50,700 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$7,358
Christ is King Community Church (Norfolk)
50% reimbursement of 29,250 pounds of rubber playground mulch and 25% of 31 border timbers.
$5,112
City of Alliance
50% reimbursement of 11,700 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$1,680
City of Atkinson
25% reimbursement of 25,350 pounds of rubber playground mulch for Mill Race Park playground.
$5,035
City of Atkinson
300-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$28,898
City of Bassett
500-ton scrap tire cleanup of legacy tire pile.
$49,000
City of Bloomfield
25% reimbursement of 18 rubber timbers and six swing mats and 50% of 7,800 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$1,830
City of Columbus
250-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$21,750
City of Edgar
50% reimbursement of 44,400 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$4,744
City of Hickman
25% reimbursement rubber playground tiles.
$10,358
City of Holdrege
300-ton scrap tire cleanup in Holdrege for three counties.
$26,026
City of Neligh
350-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$31,190
City of Nelson
50% reimbursement of 40,420 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$4,859
City of Omaha
100-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$14,556
City of Red Cloud
50% reimbursement of 82,000 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$11,097
City of Seward
50% reimbursement of 80,000 pounds of rubber playground mulch for three parks.
$9,835
City of South Sioux City
50% reimbursement of 24,000 pounds of rubber playground mulch for Freedom Park.
$2,505
City of St. Edward
50% reimbursement of 13,650 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$1,455
City of Valley
125-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$11,205
Custer County Recycling (Broken Bow)
100-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$10,270
Dakota County Road Department (Hubbard)
100-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$12,204
Elkhorn Public Schools (Fire Ridge Elementary)
25% reimbursement of two rubber poured-in-place playground surfaces at Fire Ridge Elementary.
$33,840
Elkhorn Public Schools (Hillrise Elementary)
25% reimbursement of two rubber poured-in-place playground surfaces at Hillrise Elementary.
$20,952
Elkhorn Public Schools (Sagewood Elementary)
25% reimbursement of two rubber poured-in-place playground surfaces at Sagewood Elementary.
$22,432
Elkhorn Public Schools (Skyline Elementary)
25% reimbursement of two rubber poured-in-place playground surfaces at Skyline Elementary.
$22,709
Elkhorn Public Schools (West Bay Elementary)
25% reimbursement of two rubber poured-in-place playground surfaces at West Bay Elementary.
$31,589
Elkhorn Public Schools (West Dodge Station Elementary)
25% reimbursement of two rubber poured-in-place playground surface at West Dodge Station Elementary.
$28,366
Elkhorn Public Schools (Westridge Elementary)
25% reimbursement of two rubber poured-in-place playground surfaces at Westridge Elementary.
$20,173
Elkhorn Public Schools (Elkhorn Ridge Middle School.)
25% reimbursement of athletic track surface and event runways at Elkhorn Ridge Middle School.
$23,725
Elkhorn Public Schools (Manchester Elementary)
25% reimbursement of two rubber poured-in-place playground surfaces at Manchester Elementary.
$28,266
Elkhorn Public Schools (Spring Ridge Elementary)
25% reimbursement of two rubber poured-in-place playground surfaces at Spring Ridge Elementary.
$24,394
Elkhorn Public Schools (Elkhorn High School)
25% reimbursement of athletic track maintenance coating system at Elkhorn High School.
$10,830
Elkhorn Public Schools (Elkhorn)
50% reimbursement of 29,250 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$2,138
Fullerton Public Schools (Fullerton)
50% reimbursement of 35,100 pounds of rubber playground mulch and 25% of 11 rubber swing mats.
$5,361
Furnas County (Beaver City)
150-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$13,336
Gerdes, Riley (Auburn)
50% reimbursement of 4,298 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$275
Gibbon Public Schools (Gibbon)
50% reimbursement of 17,550 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$2,925
Hall County Highway Department (Grand Island)
200-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$16,376
Hamilton County Highway Dept. (Aurora)
200-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$16,942
Havco Kids One Inc. (Lincoln)
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles for Williamsburg Village Child Development Center.
$7,993
Hernandez, Paul (Sidney)
50% reimbursement of 1,795 pounds of crumb rubber infill for synthetic turf.
$191
Hitchcock County Public Schools Foundation (Trenton)
25% reimbursement of athletic track and event runways.
$20,460
Holdrege Public Schools (Holdrege)
50% reimbursement of 67,500 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$7,500
Holy Cross Catholic Church (Omaha)
50% reimbursement of 28,000 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$4,450
Holy Name School (Omaha)
50% reimbursement of 21,450 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$3,425
House Enterprises, Inc. (Papillion)
50% reimbursement of 2,000 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$407
Jefferson County (Fairbury)
150-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$12,512
Johnson County (Tecumseh)
75-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$6,140
Keep Alliance Beautiful (Alliance)
50% reimbursement of 31,000 pounds of rubber landscaping mulch for homeowners in Alliance.
$4,184
Keith County (Ogallala)
150-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$15,950
Knox County (Center)
100-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$9,860
L.P. Gill Inc. (Jackson)
50% of steel hydraulic shear to cut large tires into pieces for ADC shredder; also used to de-rim tires.
$60,000
Lincoln Public Schools
25% reimbursement of synthetic turf at Lincoln High School, using recovered crumb rubber infill from previous turf.
$67,774
Lower Loup Natural Resources District (Ord)
300-ton scrap tire cleanup in Burwell for 11 counties.
$26,954
Lyons-Decatur Northeast School (Lyons)
25% reimbursement of rubber playground mats.
$7,323
Madison Public Schools (Madison)
50% reimbursement of 23,450 pounds of rubber playground mulch and 25% of rubber border timbers.
$3,775
McCook Public Schools McCook)
50% reimbursement of 111,150 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$16,248
Midland University (Fremont)
25% reimbursement of synthetic turf and an athletic track surface with a black structural spray.
$155,074
Morrison, Gary (Lincoln)
50% reimbursement of 1,200 pounds of rubber mulch.
$128
Nebraska Sports Performance Center (Lincoln)
25% reimbursement of indoor synthetic turf soccer field.
$45,706
Nebraska Sports Performance Center (Lincoln)
25% reimbursement of outdoor synthetic turf soccer field.
$83,000
Nemaha County (Auburn)
125-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$11,752
Norris Public Schools (Firth)
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at intermediate school and crumb rubber/binder mix to reinforce high jump approach at high school.
$8,100
North Platte Community Day Care Center (North Platte)
25% reimbursement of rubber playground mats.
$878
Northwest Community Action Partnership Headstart (Chadron)
50% reimbursement of 31,200 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$6,390
Ogallala Public Schools (Ogallala)
50% reimbursement of 148,200 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$21,117
Omaha Parks Foundation (Omaha)
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Benson Park.
$28,984
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Bancroft Elementary.
$12,338
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Bancroft Elementary's Pre-K playground.
$2,811
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Dodge Elementary's large playground.
$11,570
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Dodge Elementary's small playground.
$5,850
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement rubber playground tiles at Benson West Elementary.
$8,071
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Catlin Elementary.
$2,644
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Picotte Elementary's large playground.
$8,315
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement rubber playground tiles at Picotte Elementary Preschool's playground.
$7,557
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Hartman Elementary's large playground.
$11,343
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement rubber playground tiles at Hartman Elementary's Early Childhood Center small playground.
$4,995
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Fullerton Elementary.
$8,061
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Oak Valley School's Pre-K playground.
$1,161
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Skinner Magnet Center.
$11,281
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Gilder Elementary's Pre-K playground.
$4,306
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles for the Pre-K/Early Childhood Center playground at Gateway Elementary.
$6,141
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Indian Hill Elementary's Pre-K playground.
$1,098
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles at Masters Elementary.
$11,570
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles for two playgrounds at Gateway Elementary.
$27,593
Omaha Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles for three playgrounds at Mount View Elementary.
$14,463
Ord Public Schools (Ord)
25% reimbursement of athletic track maintenance coating system.
$9,819
Otoe County (Nebraska City)
600-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$52,176
Papillion LaVista School District (Papillion)
25% reimbursement of synthetic turf at Papillion-LaVista South High School using recovered crumb rubber infill from previous turf.
$84,197
Papio Missouri River NRD (Tekamah)
500-ton scrap tire cleanup in Arlington for 10 counties.
$45,000
Pender Public Schools
25% reimbursement of rubber playground tiles for two areas.
$8,344
Pierce County (Pierce)
100-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$9,020
Play Ball! Foundation (Omaha)
25% reimbursement of synthetic turf on three Little League infields.
$50,500
Premier Day Care Services 2, Inc. (Elkhorn)
50% reimbursement of 13,650 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$2,300
Sacred Heart School (Lawrence)
50% reimbursement of 1,500 pounds of rubber buffings for playground surface.
$172
Saline County (Wilber)
250-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$20,410
Sandhill Plastics (Kearney)
50% reimbursement of 89,180 pounds of crumb rubber for manufacturing rubber/plastic flooring.
$4,459
Sanitary Improvement District #6 (Emerald)
500-ton cleanup for eastern Nebraska.
$39,320
Seward County (Seward)
200-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$16,676
Solid Waste Agency of Northwest Nebraska (Chadron)
125-ton scrap tire cleanup in Chadron for three counties.
$17,639
Southern Valley Schools (Oxford)
50% reimbursement of 12,230 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$2,710
St Joseph Elementary School (Atkinson)
50% reimbursement of 123,786 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$16,600
State of NE - Dept. of Roads (Lexington)
500-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$44,060
The Gingerbread House (Wilber)
25% reimbursement of seven rubber swing mats and 50% of 7,800 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$2,553
Village of Filley
50% reimbursement of 38,475 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$2,765
Village of Cairo
50% reimbursement of 146,250 pounds of rubber playground mulch for three playgrounds.
$19,681
Village of Hyannis
100-ton scrap tire cleanup.
$11,257
Village of Murray
50% reimbursement of 64,000 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$9,732
Village of Petersburg
50% reimbursement of 13,650 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$1,997
Walthill Public School (Walthill)
50% reimbursement of 13,300 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$4,155
Wayne Community Schools Foundation (Wayne)
25% reimbursement of athletic track at Wayne High School.
$23,328
Westminster Preschool (Lincoln)
50% reimbursement of 11,700 pounds of rubber playground mulch.
$1,975
Wisner-Pilger Schools (Wisner)
25% reimbursement of athletic track surface at Wisner-Pilger High School.
$19,720