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NTB National Tire & Battery Donates Recycled Scrap Tires to Playground

3 June 1999

NTB National Tire & Battery Donates Recycled Scrap Tires to Refurbish Atlanta's Selina S. Butler Park Playground

4,000 Tires Collected in Last Month's Tire Amnesty Day Provide Local Children
                  With a Safe and More Comfortable Play Area

    ATLANTA, June 2 -- What was once considered an eyesore and
potential fire hazard by many Atlantans has been turned into a safety
enhancement for children.  Today, Atlanta residents reaped an additional
benefit from last month's Tire Amnesty Day as NTB National Tire & Battery
recycled and donated the scrap tires collected back to the city.
    Volunteers from NTB, together with Mayor Bill Campbell, Keep Atlanta
Beautiful, Park Pride Atlanta and Rubber Wholesalers Inc. resurfaced the
playground of an area park with a pour-in-place compound made from the
recycled tires.
    NTB donated the rubber surfacing product to Selina S. Butler Park, located
in northeast Atlanta at 98 Williams Holmes Borders Drive.  The initiative is
part of its R.O.T.A.T.E. (Recycling Old Tires Aids the Environment) program
designed to clear communities across the country of discarded scrap tires
while demonstrating the wide array of uses for recycled tires through
community enhancement projects.
    On April 10, NTB teamed up with Keep Atlanta Beautiful to co-sponsor the
city's second Tire Amnesty Day that reclaimed more than 4,000 scrap tires from
downtown neighborhoods.  Following the event, the collected tires were
transported to Rubber Wholesalers for cleaning, shredding and processing into
a safe, rubberized playground surface material.
    "NTB donated the rubber surfacing to Selina S. Butler Park in an effort to
reward the Atlanta community members who actively cleared their neighborhoods
of unsafe and unsightly old tires during the Tire Amnesty Day," said Vance
Rea, NTB district manager for Atlanta.  "Through Atlanta's volunteer efforts,
the very same tires collected have now been turned from a negative into a
positive in a community where many of our employees and customers live and
work."
    "We welcome NTB's support in refurbishing Selina S. Butler Park," stated
Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, who participated in the park resurfacing.  "It
shows in a very tangible way NTB's true commitment to improving the
communities in which they operate.  In this instance, NTB volunteers are
creating a more safe and comfortable play area for Atlanta children."
    The Scrap Tire Management Council estimates the United States generates
about 270 million scrap tires annually and has approximately 800 million scrap
tires in stockpiles, posing serious environmental and safety hazards.  Tires
are a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other pests and create hazardous
emission problems if burned in open air.
    "Initiatives such as NTB's R.O.T.A.T.E. are unique in that community
members are rewarded with both cleaner neighborhoods and improved
playgrounds," said Verna Jones, executive director, Keep Atlanta Beautiful.
"We feel this effort will help to demonstrate the value of properly disposing
old tires and have an impact on beautifying Atlanta."
    In addition to playgrounds, widespread applications for recycled rubber
throughout the United States include:  tree mulch, ramps for the disabled,
running tracks, basketball courts, horse tracks, bike paths, roofing
compounds, driveway sealant, truck bed liners, mail box posts, garden hoses,
computer mouse pads, car parts, cow mats and hockey pucks.
    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.
    The Ranger, Ga., based Rubber Wholesalers Inc. is dedicated to providing
the playground safety surfacing industry with innovative and extraordinary
products made from 100 percent recycled rubber.  Its products, including
Pour-in-Place Safety Surface and Rubber Walk surfaces, are used on
playgrounds, miniature golf courses, theme parks, nature trails and horse
training facilities across the country and internationally.
    Contact Kristen Barnfield of Edelman, 312-240-2829, or Dave Albritton of
Sears Roebuck and Co., 847-286-9017