AKRON, Ohio — Here in Northeast Ohio, we have the “Rubber Capital of the World” in our back yard as Akron has long been known for its pivotal role in the tire industry.
A bill proposed by Ohio lawmakers is aiming to bolster the industry while helping save the environment.
Retreading is the process of replacing treads on worn-out tires with new treads instead of buying brand new tires.
But depending on the tire, this process isn’t always possible.
3News’ Isabel Lawrence spoke with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who says many of the imported tires from China aren’t high enough quality to be retreaded. That can contribute to additional waste and less retreading business here in the U.S.
New legislation known as the “Retreaded Truck Tire Jobs Supply Chain Security and Sustainability Act” plans to offer tax credits for commercial fleets and truck drivers to buy American retreaded tires.
"This is a way to rebuild manufacturing jobs,” Sen. Brown said. “This is a way to bring some of those jobs home. And the more tires are made in the U.S., the more the retreading tire industry will grow. It's not an industry most people think about, but it's something that my job is to think about because how do we create more jobs in Northeast Ohio?"
Johnny McIntosh at Goodyear has also seen these lower-quality, imported tires and says there are around 80 retread facilities across the U.S. and Canada that use the Goodyear process for retreading.
According to the U.S. Tire Manufacturer’s Association, there has been a 50 percent decrease in the number of retread facilities in the country over the last two decades.
“In recent years we have seen a lot of an influx of ultra-low cost, single-use imported tires, and single-use meaning they're not really designed to be retreaded that multiple times.”
McIntosh says retreading is a great return on investment for fleets and reduces waste.
The U.S. Tire Manufacturer’s Association says retreaded tires use 90 pounds less material and help reduce CO2 emissions, water consumption and air pollution.