Ohio EPA orders tire removal at abandoned landfill

Citing a danger to public health and the environment, Ohio EPA has ordered Martin Landfill Corporation or its corporate owners to remove 6,250 scrap tires at the abandoned Martin Landfill located in Cadiz Township, Ohio.

Ohio EPA has ordered Martin Landfill Corporation or its corporate owners to stop accepting and disposing solid waste and tires; implement mosquito control measures; and establish proper storage piles of tires and fire breaks between piles until all tires are removed. The scrap tires must be properly removed and disposed by mid-August. If neither the company nor the corporate owners comply with the orders, the Agency may seek reimbursement from them after hiring a contractor to remove the tires.

Landfill Resources Incorporated (LRI) is listed as the current owner of the landfill. The former property owners, Jack and Ethel Martin, transferred the property to LRI. LRI later merged with Martin Landfill Corporation which operated the landfill until 1991, when Ohio EPA ordered it to properly close the landfill for solid waste law violations, namely failure to restrict access to the property and allowing open dumping of scrap tires to occur. Enforcement efforts against the Martins have been exhausted and attempts to locate Martin Landfill Corporation’s corporate owners have been unsuccessful.

Funding for state-financed tire cleanups comes from Ohio’s Scrap Tire Management Fund, which is comprised of a $1 fee collected on new tires sold in Ohio. Each year, more than 12 million scrap tires are generated in Ohio. Most of these tires are recycled or otherwise properly disposed, but an estimated two million scrap tires remain in illegal dumps in Ohio.