TIA forms Environmental Advisory Council to boost 'green' initiatives
When Wayne Croswell became president of the Tire Industry Association (TIA) in November, one of his key goals was to increase the organization’s presence in tire recycling and other “green” issues.
Toward that end, the TIA has created a new Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) to provide strategic information, advisory services, educational programs and governmental assistance for promoting environmental awareness throughout the tire industry.
The EAC replaces the Tire and Rubber Recycling Advisory Council (TRRAC), “which for 15 years has brought together the brightest minds in the tire and rubber recycling sector,” Croswell recounts.
“But, the EAC will go further than TRRAC by expanding this initiative to include all facets of the tire industry,” he reports. “For TIA members and the tire industry, this means examining every aspect of their business to be energy efficient, insure safety, reduce waste and to use methods that reduce, reuse, repair and recycle tires,” Croswell adds.
“It’s clear that ‘green’ issues are becoming more and more enmeshed in both our personal and professional lives, and thus I wanted to take a broader, more holistic approach to how tire dealers and the tire industry can better understand and implement ‘green’ concepts and practices into every aspect of the industry – from cutting down on paper use in the office to the utilization of environmentally-friendly technologies on the shop floor, to finding new and exciting ways to utilize scrap tires,” he says.
“My goal with the EAC is to help make TIA the preeminent ‘green’ authority in the tire industry.”
Croswell selected the EAC’s makeup to represent the various tire industry segments.
The membership includes:
• Co-Chairman (also a TIA board member) - Dick Gust - Liberty Tire Recycling
• Co-Chairman (also TIA secretary) - Larry Brandt - MSB Tires
• Michael Baggett - Yokohama Tire Corp.
• Chip Huber - Q Fix Truck Service
• Brett Matschke – Richlonn’s Tire & Service Centers
• Glen Nicholson - Tire Kingdom
• Jim Pangle - Fountain Tire
• Charles Astafan - Columbus McKinnon
• Kevin Kendrick - Modified Asphalt Solutions
• Robert Moyer - Costco Tire Centers
• Tim Bent - Bridgestone Americas
• Mary Sikora - Recycling Research
The EAC will meet on a regular basis; plans for this year are currently being formulated.
For more information, visit www.tireindustry.org.