NIPOMO, CA— California's environment scored a major victory thanks to some innovative thinking on the part of Chicago Grade Landfill, Inc. and a large piece of equipment affectionately referred to as "The Shredder". It seems someone had been stockpiling tires on a piece of property in Nipomo, and before anyone knew it, the pile had grown to over one-million tires—one of the largest in California.

"You knew it was out there, just growing in size. But you try to put it out of your mind, you know, just get on with your life," Nipomo hairdresser Myrna Brodumski recalls. "But after a while, we knew something had to be done. I mean, we want Nipomo to be known for its strawberries, not some pile."


The terrifying tire monster looms in the background as a group of
abandoned cars cowers in the face of the ever-growing threat.

Enter Chicago Grade Landfill, Inc. For years, the facility had been recycling tires and using them as alternative daily cover for the landfill. If anyone could could tackle the massive pile, it was Chicago Grade.

"We were confident we could take care of the problem. We make tires go away. It's just part of what we do," General Manager Michael Hoover says.

The unquestioned star of the Chicago Grade tire recycling program is a giant yellow piece of industrial equipment known simply as "The Shredder". The Shredder spends each and every day devouring tires and turning them into cover material. Some questioned Shredder's ability to handle the over one-million tires that made up the monster pile, but the Shredder was unfazed: "Please! I eat punks like that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. One tire, one-hundred tires, one-million tires, it doesn't matter to me. I'm fueled up and ready to go. I say bring 'em on!"
The tire monster was no match for the Shredder's voracious appetite.

The tires meet their doom.		 And bring them on they did. Chicago Grade Landfill removed 15,000 tires a week and served them up to the Shredder, who tore threw them—steel belts and all. One of the condemned tires, a balding and ill-tempered Firestone, spoke to us as he was being led away from the rest of the pile. "It's too bad. We had a good thing going in Nipomo. You get that big and nobody can mess with you. At least, that's what we thought until this Shredder guy came into the picture. This dude is just brutal. I mean, I know he's gonna eat me, but I just gotta respect a guy who's that tough."

The pile was soon vanquished and the people and environment of Nipomo breathed a big sigh of relief.

"Now we can go back to our lives," says local Nipomo resident Ed Smeltwood. "Those tires played by their own rules. They were totally out of control, and we were scared. And, when you're scared, the tires have already won."

Plans are in the works to honor the Shredder at a downtown ceremony. The mayor will present the Shredder with a key to the city, followed by the unveiling of a sculpture depicting a pair of chopsticks holding a tire.

P.S. Read the real story ;-)