(1) For purposes of this section and ss. 403.718 and 403.7185:(a) “Department” means the Department of Environmental Protection.
(b) “Motor vehicle” means an automobile, motorcycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer, truck tractor and semitrailer combination, or any other vehicle operated in this state, used to transport persons or property and propelled by power other than muscular power. The term does not include traction engines, road rollers, vehicles that run only upon a track, bicycles, electric bicycles, mopeds, or farm tractors and trailers.
(c) “Tire” means a continuous solid or pneumatic rubber covering encircling the wheel of a motor vehicle.
(d) “Waste tire” means a tire that has been removed from a motor vehicle and has not been retreaded or regrooved. The term includes, but is not limited to, used tires and processed tires. The term does not include solid rubber tires and tires that are inseparable from the rim.
(e) “Waste tire collection center” means a site where waste tires are collected from the public prior to being offered for recycling and where fewer than 1,500 tires are kept on the site on any given day.
(f) “Waste tire processing facility” means a site where equipment is used to treat waste tires mechanically, chemically, or thermally so that the resulting material is a marketable product or is suitable for proper disposal. The term includes mobile waste tire processing equipment.
(g) “Waste tire site” means a site at which 1,500 or more waste tires are accumulated.
(h) “Lead-acid battery” means a lead-acid battery designed for use in motor vehicles, vessels, and aircraft, and includes such batteries when sold new as a component part of a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft, but not when sold to recycle components.
(i) “Indoor” means within a structure that excludes rain and public access and would control air flows in the event of a fire.
(j) “Processed tire” means a tire that has been treated mechanically, chemically, or thermally so that the resulting material is a marketable product or is suitable for proper disposal.
(k) “Used tire” means a waste tire which has a minimum tread depth of 3/32 inch or greater and is suitable for use on a motor vehicle.
(2) The owner or operator of any waste tire site shall provide the department with information concerning the site’s location, size, and the approximate number of waste tires that are accumulated at the site and shall initiate steps to comply with subsection (3).
(3)(a) A person may not maintain a waste tire site unless such site is:1. An integral part of the person’s permitted waste tire processing facility; or
2. Used for the storage of waste tires prior to processing and is located at a permitted solid waste management facility.
(b) It is unlawful for any person to dispose of waste tires or processed tires in the state except at a permitted solid waste management facility. Collection or storage of waste tires at a permitted waste tire processing facility or waste tire collection center prior to processing or use does not constitute disposal, provided that the collection and storage complies with rules established by the department.
(c) Whole waste tires may not be deposited in a landfill as a method of ultimate disposal.
(d) A person may not contract with a waste tire collector for the transportation, disposal, or processing of waste tires unless the collector is registered with the department or exempt from requirements provided under this section. Any person who contracts with a waste tire collector for the transportation of more than 25 waste tires per month from a single business location must maintain records for that location and make them available for review by the department or by law enforcement officers, which records must contain the date when the tires were transported, the quantity of tires, the registration number of the collector, and the name of the driver.
(4) The department shall adopt rules to administer this section and s. 403.718. Such rules:(a) Must provide for the administration or revocation of waste tire processing facility permits, including mobile processor permits;
(b) Must provide for the administration or revocation of waste tire collector registrations, the fee for which may not exceed $50 per vehicle registered annually;
(c) Must provide for the administration or revocation of waste tire collection center permits, the fee for which may not exceed $250 annually;
(d) Must set standards, including financial assurance standards, for waste tire processing facilities and associated waste tire sites, waste tire collection centers, waste tire collectors, and for the storage of waste tires and processed tires, including storage indoors;
(e) May exempt not-for-hire waste tire collectors and processing facilities from financial assurance requirements;
(f) Must authorize the final disposal of waste tires at a permitted solid waste disposal facility provided the tires have been cut into sufficiently small parts to assure their proper disposal; and
(g) Must allow waste tire material that has been cut into sufficiently small parts to be used as daily cover material for a landfill.
(5)(a) The department shall encourage the voluntary establishment of waste tire collection centers at retail tire-selling businesses, waste tire processing facilities, and solid waste disposal facilities, to be open to the public for the deposit of waste tires.
(b) The department may establish an incentives program to encourage individuals to return their waste tires to a waste tire collection center. The incentives may involve the use of discount or prize coupons, prize drawings, promotional giveaways, or other activities the department determines will promote collection, reuse, volume reduction, and proper disposal of waste tires.
(c) The department may contract with a promotion company to administer the incentives program.
