State set to roll out tire-cleanup fee:
Lack of money temporarily let the air out of Missouri’s program to find and clean up tire piles.
But that should change soon. For the first time since January 2004, retailers will collect a 50-cent fee on each new tire sold in the state, starting Oct. 1. The money will support the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ waste-tire cleanup and enforcement program.
Missouri lawmakers renewed the program this year when they passed a larger hazardous waste bill. Senate Bill 225 also created a 50-cent fee on the sale of car and truck batteries, to address broader hazardous waste efforts. That fee, which also goes into effect Oct. 1, covers batteries containing lead and sulfuric acid that are six volts or more.
Will they cut our taxes by an equal amount? Will they quit collecting the fee after they’ve cleaned up all old tires in the state?
How naive do they think we are?
They don’t care so long as we continue to have spare change in our pockets and we continue to hand it over.
