The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has teamed up with Arkansas artists Danny Campbell, chairman of the Department of Art and Design at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and Alice Guffey Miller to highlight new legislation regarding the disposal of tires.
Students from Maumelle High School and eStem High School will also be involved.
ADEQ has asked the artists and art students to create tire sculptures to be exhibited March 2-16 on the second floor rotunda of the Arkansas State Capitol at Little Rock. Admission is free to the public and all ages are encouraged to visit.
“The Arkansas Legislature passed Act 317 in 2017, creating the Used Tire Recycling and Accountability Program (TAP),” according to a news release. “The program, implemented by Arkansas’s 11 Solid Waste Districts with support from ADEQ, replaces and improves upon Arkansas’s former waste tire program by initiating an electronic uniform used tire manifest system to increase accountability. It also provides incentives for used tire recycling, equalizes fee collection, and creates the Used Tire Recycling Fund.”
Through this program, sending tires to landfills will be a last resort.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“The tires will first be considered for uses such as tire-derived fuel that can be used to power equipment such as boilers in mills and plants, or long-lasting mulch that can be used for landscaping or as a soft surface for playgrounds,” according to the release.
Campbell is an Arkansas native whose work is a natural fit for a tire art installation at the Arkansas Capitol, according to the release.
“Before a life-changing car accident in which an 18-wheeler blew a tire and the spinning tread of that tire narrowly missed killing him, his artwork was fairly traditional. But since the accident, he has been on a mission to remove bits of tire tread, car bumpers, shattered grilles, and other debris from highways. He uses these found objects to produce wall-mounted and free-standing sculptures, hoping to transform what would otherwise be dangerous trash into expressive, beautiful compositions,” according to the release.
Miller, also an Arkansas native, is known around the state for her unique art pieces.
“A hallmark of her work is community involvement, and she has produced public art across Arkansas. Miller has works permanently installed at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library, Bernice Garden, and the Historic Arkansas Museum,”according to the release.