Researchers are finding improved ways to mix the shredded and ground tire material (see second photo) into resilient mixes that can be turned into everything from highways and secondary roads to exit-ramp embankments, retaining walls, playground 'matting,' running paths and erosion-resistant beach walls. Rubberized asphalt's benefits go beyond good environmental practices -- it typically cracks less, lasts longer, offers a quieter ride and provides better skid-resistance in inclement weather than standard road surfaces.

The center is funded in part by a grant awarded by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control in cooperation with the City of Clemson. The 6,500-square-foot building includes laboratory and education space.

The facility is unique, said director Serji Amirkhanian, because it not only provides research, development and engineering expertise, but -- thanks to funding partner DHEC -- the seed money to help counties and cities make this technology work for them.

"Finding solutions to the scrap-tire problem is meaningless unless we can find a way to get the solutions into the community -- that's why this center works so well," said Amirkhanian.

The five-year project includes work with agencies and communities statewide to identify recycling markets for scrap tires and to provide education and training services.

In business only two years, the center has already awarded 23 projects from the coast to the mountains. Projects range from wear-resistant roads in Richland and Dillon counties to safer playground material in Georgetown and Clemson. Projects this year are expected to use more than 1,500 tons of scrap tires.

"What we learn will not only benefit South Carolina but will have international implications," said Chris Przirembel, vice president for research at Clemson University. "This could become a model for other states as well as overseas." The lab has already been visited by delegations from China, Spain, Italy, Japan and Scotland.

Within two years, Amirkhanian expects the lab to expand its research base into other recyclable materials such as plastics, shingles and other polymers.

By the time the five-year grant from DHEC draws to a close in three years, the lab is expected to be self-supporting.

For DHEC, the research is a timely solution to a mounting problem. Approximately 4 million scrap tires (see bottom photo on right) are discarded yearly in South Carolina. About 200,000 tires are found illegally dumped each year.

"The reuse and recycling of waste tires is a perfect fit for our agency's mission," said DHEC Commissioner C. Earl Hunter.

"We are able to protect the environment by conserving natural resources, energy and valuable landfill space while, at the same time, eliminating unsightly and illegal waste tire piles from our state. The prevention and elimination of illegal waste tire piles, in turn, protects human health by eliminating a risk of dangerous fires, as well as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which, as we all know, can carry deadly diseases, including West Nile Virus," he said. A single tire can produce as many as one million mosquitoes.

"The establishment of a first-of-its-kind research facility here at Clemson is just one more way we are working to accomplish our mission," said Hunter.

The grant was awarded from the state's Waste Tire Trust Fund. A $2 fee is paid on each new tire sold in South Carolina. Of that fee, 50 cents is placed in the Waste Tire Trust Fund. The fund is used for grants to local governments and to promote the collection and recycling of waste tires.

"We're glad to be part of this unique partnership," said Clemson Mayor Larry Abernathy. "One of City Council's goals is to look for partnership opportunities with the university and nearby cities that can lead to quality-of-life improvements. This one promises to do that for the entire state."

(photos provided by Clemson Universtiy)

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