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NTB National Tire & Battery Joins Keep Atlanta Beautiful

12 April 1999

NTB National Tire & Battery Joins Keep Atlanta Beautiful to Bring City's Tire Amnesty Day Full Circle    

     Collected Scrap Tires Will be Used to Resurface Atlanta Playgrounds

    ATLANTA, April 10 -- To encourage Atlanta residents to
properly dispose of their old tires, NTB National Tire & Battery has arranged
to recycle the tires turned in today at the city's second Tire Amnesty Day,
co-sponsored by Keep Atlanta Beautiful and NTB.  NTB will then donate the
recycled rubber to resurface a downtown playground.
           ( http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990410/ATSA001 )
    NTB's co-sponsorship of today's event, and subsequent donation, is part of
its nationwide R.O.T.A.T.E. (Recycling Old Tires Aids the Environment)
initiative, designed for NTB to "give back" to local communities by raising
awareness of the wide variety of uses for recycled tires and encouraging tire
recycling.  Employees from NTB volunteered onsite at the Tire Amnesty Day at
City Hall East to assist with tire collection from local residents and
community groups.
    After the tires are collected, they will be transported to a recycling
facility to be cleaned and processed into a pour-in-place rubber, designed
specifically as safe playground surface material.  The recycled tire material
will be used to resurface the playground at Selina S. Butler Park, 98 Williams
Holmes Borders Drive, in northeast Atlanta.
    "We welcome NTB's support of Atlanta's successful Tire Amnesty program,"
stated Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, who participated in the tire event.  "It
shows in a very tangible way NTB's true commitment to improving the
communities in which they operate."
    "NTB is committed to working with Atlanta's neighborhoods to help keep our
communities free of discarded tires and to educate residents about scrap tire
recycling," said Vance Rea, NTB district manager for Atlanta.  "Through our
donation of recycled pour-in-place rubber to resurface Atlanta's playgrounds,
we aim to turn a negative into a positive in the community where many of our
employees and customers live and work."
    "This year's city-wide Tire Amnesty Day is unique in that through the NTB
initiative, community members will be rewarded with both cleaner neighborhoods
and improved playgrounds," said Verna Jones, executive director, Keep Atlanta
Beautiful.  "We think this effort will truly demonstrate the value of properly
disposing of old tires and will have an impact on beautifying Atlanta."
    The Scrap Tire Management Council estimates the United States generates
about 270 million scrap tires annually and has about 800 million scrap tires
in stockpile, creating an environmental and safety hazard.
    In addition to playgrounds, widespread applications of recycled rubber
throughout the United States include ramps for the disabled, running tracks,
horse tracks, bike paths, roofing compounds, driveway sealants, truck bed
liners, mail box posts, computer mouse pads, car parts, cow mats and hockey
targets.
    The NTB National Tire & Battery division of Sears, Roebuck and Co. was
launched in March 1997 when Sears converted its 150 Tire America and 125
National Tire Warehouse (NTW) stores into one format, NTB.  All NTB stores
carry national brand name and private label tires and custom wheels.  Stores
also sell batteries and related starting and charging accessories, including
DieHard, the nation's most preferred battery.  NTB stores offer ride-control
services including brakes, shocks, struts, alignments and front-end repairs.