Tire disposal fees won’t be going up this year, and El Paso County officials are breathing a sigh of relief

A bill in the state Legislature that would have more than doubled fees consumers pay to get rid of old tires when they buy a new set passed out of a House committee Tuesday stripped of the higher charges.

“We were able to convince the committee members and bill sponsors” to remove the fee hike, said El Paso County Commissioner Jim Bensberg, who had testified against the bill.

The revised proposal calls for funding a new clean technology grant program in the governor’s Office of Economic Development with grants, gifts and possible federal stimulus money. The House Transportation Committee sent the amended version to the full House for action.

Initially, the bill called for raising fees from $1.50 per tire to $3.25, earmarking the additional $5 million per year toward clean technology grants.

Bensberg said the county, which is home to what could be the largest stockpile of used tires in the nation, is against diverting money from tire disposal.

Some 30 million to 40 million tires are stored at Midway south of Colorado Springs, and the county wants to help the new licensee draw money from the tire fund to shred and burn the tires at a cement plant south of Pueblo.

County Fire Marshal Jim Reid also testified against the bill, saying a fire at Midway would be devastating for the environment.

“At least we got this immediate threat extinguished,” Bensberg said, but noted the fight isn’t over.

The Joint Budget Committee has suggested transferring cash from the tire fund to the general fund where it could be spent on programs unrelated to tires, he said.

The tire fund, which contained roughly $500,000 last month, got rid of 33.2 million tires from 1996 to 2007 through recycling and reuse projects, including a playground surface at Palmer Lake Elementary School.

Shannon Urban Photo by