Mapping Tire Piles With Imagery

1. Mapping Tire Piles With Imagery Catherine Huybrechts Endpoint Environmental Indiana GIS Conference Indianapolis, Indiana March 14, 2007

2. Presentation outline • Waste tires in America • 2. Market development for used tires • 3. Tire stockpiles • 4. Government action • 5. Origins of mapping tire piles with satellite imagery • 6. TIRe Model • 7. Example map • 8. Summary

3. Waste tire piles in America • Every year Americans dispose of an estimated 280 - 300 million vehicle tires • Approximately 80% of those tires are diverted to various profitable markets • Remaining 20% - tires are disposed of or stockpiled illegally every year • Today, across the United States, there are approximately • 200 million tires in stockpiles

4. Market development tire derived fuel running tracks roads landfill drainage layer material playgrounds Market development diverts waste tires from being stockpiled.

5. Hazardous stockpiles Mosquito breeding habitat Toxic fires

6. History of tire piles in America • Prior to 1985 there were no laws against stockpiling • Entrepreneurs stockpiled and made money off tires • There was a notion among entrepreneurs that the more tires they collected the more money they would eventually be worth something someday • Between 1985 – 1992 not all states had laws prohibiting stockpiles • Between 1995 – 2005 states focused on assessment and abatement of stockpiles

7. Number of Scrap Tires in U.S. Stockpiles - 2003 1000 900 800 700 600 Millions of tires 500 400 300 200 100 0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2003 Year Source: Rubber Manufacturers Association, 2004.

8. Each state addresses tires differently Financial Incentives Offered to Encourage Market Development United States of America Stockpile Clean-up Program Exists United States of America Fee Collected by Tire Dealer for Tire Disposal United States of America Data collected from Rubber Manufacturers Association, 2006 YES NO YES NO YES NO Data collected from Rubber Manufacturers Association, 2006 Data collected from Rubber Manufacturers Association, 2006

9. - 2003 Source: Rubber Manufacturers Association, 2004.

10. State agencies take action Techniques used to locate tire piles: Highway patrol helicopter surveillance Communication with locals File and records checks Follow-up on location tips

11. Origins of mapping tire piles with satellite imagery • In 2004, California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) approaches NASA Ames Research Center Develop Program and San Jose State University Foundation • Create a method for mapping waste tire piles with satellite imagery

12. Pilot-project objectives • GOAL: Use commercially available high-resolution satellite imagery to locate and map illegal waste tire piles in two climate regions of California. • TECHNIQUES / TOOLS: standard image analysis methods pertinent geospatial technology computer automation • DESIGN OBJECTIVE: Create a methodology with end-user functionality that rapidly and consistently analyzes satellite imagery.

13. Pilot-project research Survey of Government Agencies Responsible for Managing Waste Tires United States of America & Mexico Results: no computer models no satellite imagery interpretation techniques for tire pile mapping State expressed interest in technology

14. Pilot-project study areas Southern California Desert Climate Northern California Coastal Climate

15. Pilot-project results False-positives were commonly attributed to shadows, water, debris piles and features with tire material content such as black tarps, polyethylene tubing, and parking lots.

16. How to find tires in imagery • TIRe Model = Tire Identification from Reflectance Model • Image-processing algorithm with 29 different math equations • TIRe Model eliminates everything but the darkest pixels in an image to identify tire piles, which absorb light • Capable of locating tire piles of 100 tires or more • Does not work with winter-season imagery • Not fully automated, requires human visual-interpretation

17. Workflow for creating a map of tire piles Process Imagery Obtain Imagery Customize TIRe Model Visual Interpretation Create Preliminary Map Verify Tire Piles in the Field Create Final Map

18. Satellite versus aerial imagery

19. TIRe Model customization Land Cover Regions USA Map Credit: An Ecological Assessment of the United States Mid-Atlantic Region (EPA Report 600/R-97/130) November 1997

20. TIRe Model process # 1 # 2 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Image Originator/Publisher: PAMAP Program, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey, 2005

21. Visual interpretation Suspect Pile # 1 Suspect Pile # 2

22. False positives Water Body Shadow Example 1 Example 2

23. Example map Information on map Known tire piles Suspect tire piles Infrastructure data Natural landmarks Standard map elements

24. Summary • In testing, TIRe Model locates tire piles of 100 tires or more • Satellite or aerial imagery can be used with the TIRe Model • Customization of the TIRe Model is necessary to successfully locate tire piles • Maps reduce staff time in the field, conserving resources • Imagery provides a visual reference of tire pile sites and can be used in court • TIRe Model is a new technology that is continually improving

25. Contact Information Catherine Huybrechts email: catherine@endpointenvironmental.com phone: (415) 668-4222 Endpoint Environmental 678 – 3RD Avenue San Francisco, California 94118-3907 www.endpointenvironmental.com Thank You!