Friday, June 6, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed legislation addressing the state’s waste tire stockpiles. Currently, more than 60 million tires sit in two piles, known as monofills, posing a threat to the environment if either pile would catch fire.

The bipartisan legislation will eventually shut down and clean up the two tire monofills. Additionally, it will end an inefficient taxpayer subsidy payment to end users of waste tires and cut Colorado’s fee on new tire purchases from $1.50 to $0.55.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association worked for seven years to enact this legislation in Colorado.

“Colorado needs this legislation to end the stockpiling of waste tires, clean up the monofills and help establish new markets for discarded tires,” said Michael Blumenthal, RMA vice president.

“Colorado has taken a critical first step toward eliminating the stigma of having the highest inventory of stockpiled waste tires in the nation,” he continued.