Les Schwab Tire Centers Receives Environmental Excellence Award from Association of Washington Business

PRINEVILLE, Ore.--Les Schwab Tire Centers announced today that it received recognition for its work in environmental stewardship with an award from the Association of Washington Business (AWB). The AWB Environmental Excellence award honors the company’s leadership in educating and building partnerships that led to the clean up of waste tire piles throughout Washington.

In the early 1980’s Washington had hundreds of illegal tire piles that created human health and environmental risks and litter. For Les Schwab Tire Centers, helping to solve the state’s waste tire problem was a natural outgrowth of the company’s focus on outstanding customer service.

“We are known for world-class customer service,” said CEO Dick Borgman, “so if a customer asked us to take their old tires, the store manager would ensure they were disposed of free of charge. Eventually this service became a company policy for all customers, and it evolved into product stewardship. Proper tire disposal was convenient for customers and good for the environment.”

Beginning in 1985 Les Schwab Tire Centers encouraged the tire retail industry to take up the issue of tire management practices and to eliminate unpermitted tire piles. Today, as it did then, the company collects, transports and disposes of customer tires. They also have several innovative tire recycling and reuse programs. Les Schwab contracts with vendors that support several markets for scrap recovery, including the development of tire-derived fuel as an alternative energy source. Tires are also converted into materials for civil engineering projects such as backfill for retaining walls along Interstate highways, light fill, and drainage rock-like material for land application.

Other Les Schwab vendors transform crumb rubber from waste tires into flooring for gyms, workout studios and playgrounds. Demand for the product is growing because it is safer and more sanitary than the wood chips traditionally used in this recreational equipment.

“We are proud to receive this award,” Borgman said. “We know that great customer service means being responsive to each customer in our store and acting responsibly on behalf of the communities where we live and work. Our closed loop tire recovery program achieves both of these goals.”

Les Schwab Tire Centers was established in Prineville, Ore., in 1952. Today the company is one of the leading independent tire dealers in the United States, with more than 7,700 employees in 410 locations throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Nevada, Alaska and Utah.