Published: December 02, 2006 12:27 pm            

One man's trash is another man's fuel

PRYOR— On Saturday, Nov. 18, a Community Tire Collection day was held at the Pryor Cement Plant operated by Buzzi Unicem USA.

Local citizens delivered more than 1500 used waste tires to the cement plant where the tires will be used as fuel in the cement kilns.

Every ton of tires burned replaces a ton of fossil fuel. The end result is tons of waste tires are no longer a source of disease or at risk of catching fire in area landfills.

Instead, the tires are being used in an environmentally sound fashion to produce a useful product. The coal or natural gas that would have otherwise been used to make cement has been saved for the future.

Cadets from the Thunderbird Youth Academy (TYA) joined the staff of the cement. A platoon of eager young men helped unload tires being dropped off, stacked tires for counting, and loaded and restacked tires into semi trailers. In the process, they employed teamwork, physical exercise, discipline and good humor. They also enjoyed the refreshments provided by the plant.

The Thunderbird Youth Academy (TYA) is part of a national project sponsored by the National Guard and funded by the State of Oklahoma.

The primary mission of TYA is to intervene in the lives of at-risk youth. Specifically, TYA targets 16 to 18 year old (male or female) high school dropouts giving them the opportunity to gain control over their lives by increasing academic performance; improving self esteem; and teaching essential life skills enabling them to compete in the work place and manage a healthy family environment.

The program utilizes a “quasi-military” approach capitalizing on military assets, doctrine and principles to teach self-discipline, improve self-esteem and physical fitness thereby addressing the needs of the “whole person.”

The Buzzi Unicem USA Cement Plant, formerly Lone Star Industries, employs 125 people who make 820,000 tons of cement each year. The plant uses waste tires and factory scrap tires as alternate fuel and burns some 14,000 tons of tires each year.

        

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