An official website of the State of Georgia.
The .gov means it’s official.
Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. State of Georgia government websites and email systems use “georgia.gov” or “ga.gov” at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you’re on an official state website.
Still not sure?
Call 1-800-GEORGIA to verify that a website is an official website of the State of Georgia.
EPD is committed to cleaning up scrap tires in Georgia and encourages local governments to assist with this effort by applying to the Local Government Scrap Tire Abatement Reimbursement (STAR) Grant. Cities, counties, and solid waste management authorities are eligible for this grant that covers the costs of removing, transporting, and processing scrap tires cleaned up from scrap tire dumps; removed from city and county right-of-ways; and collected during scrap tire amnesty events.
The grant is funded through the Solid Waste Trust Fund, which is itself funded by a fee on the sale of new tires in Georgia. EPD's Recovered Materials Unit administers the STAR grant to assist local governments with the safe removal and recycling of scrap tires.
Local government applicants are eligible to receive up to $75,000 per state fiscal year.
All tires collected through the STAR grant must be taken to a permitted or approved
beneficial
reuse scrap tire processor
for recycling in order for costs to be reimbursed. Local governments have the option to remove tires collected by the selected processor or a
permitted
tire carrier
. If tires are carried by a company others than a beneficial reuse processor, those tires must be taken to a beneficial reuse processor. It is the responsibility of the local government to maintain manifests that show tires generated at cleanups are recycled by a beneficial reuse processor.
Note: Scrap tire sorters and out-of-state landfills are not approved locations for scrap tire recycling for the STAR Grant. Projects will not be reimbursed if manifests indicate that scrap tires collected for a STAR Grant were taken to a scrap tire sorter, out-of-state landfill, or any other facility other than an EPD permitted or approved beneficial reuse scrap tire processor.
Start by reviewing the
General
STAR Guidelines
and the newly created
STAR
Guidance for Applications
and
STAR
Guidance for Reports
documents. If you are interested in hosting a scrap tire amnesty event, please see the FAQs below right and the amnesty event guidelines below. If you have any questions, contact the SWTF Grant Team at [email protected].
Important Update: EPD requires a minimum 90 days to process applications. Scrap tire collection or amnesty events need to be scheduled at least 90 days in advance of when the applications are received by EPD. Applications that do not meet this requirement may be rejected and applicants may be asked to reschedule their projects.
See below for additional resources:
FY25
STAR Q&A
- updated September 5, 2024
STAR
Informational Webinar Presentation
- February 29, 2024
EPD realizes that the information in your original STAR application and project agreement is based on estimates and sometimes, those estimates will be off. If this happens, notify EPD as soon as possible and submit an amendment application. The guidelines and application below are for amnesty events and/or right-of-way projects.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and awarded first-come, first-served, contingent on funding availability and demand.
Applications and reporting are submitted through the STAR Grant Portal below.
Information on how to set up a profile to access the STAR Grant Portal can be viewed in the
SWTF Grant
Program Profile Set-up Guide
.
Information on how to use the portal can be reviewed in the
STAR
Grant Portal Guide
.
To report a suspected tire dump, or for other scrap or used tire complaints, please contact the EPD compliance specialist for your county.
