Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Recycling tires in Atwood has halted after internal problems caused the recycling company to disband.
Atwood Recyclers Inc. is no longer in business, their agent of record said last week. The company was organized late last year to help Garry Baker, owner of G&M Recycling in Atwood, comply with Indiana Department of Environmental Management regulations.
Mike Miner, formerly Baker's attorney and a partner in Atwood Recyclers, said a disagreement between Baker and the company's owners resulted in Atwood Recyclers removing their equipment from the Atwood property.
IDEM's agreement was that Baker link up with an outside third party, Miner said. "Garry's approach to running it was not agreeable to the rest of us," he said.
According to a letter Baker received last week from IDEM, he is no longer in compliance with his consent decree with IDEM and cannot bring tires to any of his properties in or around Atwood.
In addition, IDEM has unrestricted access to the properties and will "remediate" the G&M property in Atwood.
The company was created to help Baker recycle scrap tires into rubber products such as firing range bullet stops, ballistic panels and cow mattresses. Baker had estimated he could recycle as many as 1.5 million scrap tires each year.
Baker and IDEM have been at odds for several years over the tire dumps in Atwood and how the waste tires would be cleaned up.
Bruce Palin, solid waste management branch chief with IDEM, said Monday that Baker is free to transport tires to other registered tire facilities, but cannot bring in more waste tires to the Atwood sites. He also said IDEM is in the process of selecting a contractor to begin work on the Atwood site.
"We're going to proceed as far as getting the site cleaned up," Palin said. "It's unfortunate that what they had set up fell apart because it was just at the verge of getting tires removed from the site."
Though there are more tires at the "pit" outside of Atwood, Palin said the proximity to houses and a school in Atwood makes the in-town site the first priority.
Baker said he's trying to find an investor to buy the share of Atwood Recyclers owned by Miner and others. He said he believes he still has a chance to find an investor.
"I feel Atwood Recyclers failed, not G&M," he said.
Palin said IDEM is willing to work with Baker to find a solution to the problem.
"He has demonstrated that he intended to comply, so as long as he gives his cooperation, we're willing to work with him," he said.
However, IDEM is not willing to wait indefinitely for that solution.
"We were getting pretty optimistic that things were going to get turned around there," Palin said. "It took a year to get to that point, and given that it fell apart, we're not willing to give it another year."
