Courtesy Photo | GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (January 30, 2025) – Decades old primary scrap tire and...... read more read more
Naval Station (NAVSTA) Guantanamo Bay, in coordination with Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast, has completed a massive tire reclamation project, successfully reclaiming valuable installation footprint and correcting long-standing, non-compliant solid waste management practices.
For decades, legacy scrap tires and High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe sections accumulated at an installation disposal site. In late 2025, NAVFAC Southeast’s Environmental Division took decisive action, awarding a$3.6 million scrap tire management contractto CEG-Montrose 8A JV, LLC, who partnered with on-island subcontractor RQ Construction LLC, of Carlsbad, California, to execute the mission.
"This project was designed to increase environmental stewardship and regain real estate while reducing fire hazards at Guantanamo Bay,"said Troy Stewart, project manager in NAVFAC Southeast Hazardous Waste Division."While achieving our main objective, we were also able to design a covered monofil for the scrap tire shreds that can be easily accessed for future civil engineering applications at the operating landfill and elsewhere.”
Executing the Shredding Operation
The logistical execution of this reclamation effort required precise coordination, particularly given the remote location of Guantanamo Bay. To tackle the massive accumulation, two specialized heavy-duty industrial shredders, and a shear for removing tires from rims, were shipped and mobilized directly to the site.
Contract crews systematically sorted, staged and fed more than 58,000 legacy tires, along with approximately 1,200 pieces of HDPE pipe totaling about 4 miles, into the high-capacity grinders to establish a continuous processing pipeline. Crews processed a wide variety of tires, including all-terrain, passenger, forklift, and large heavy-equipment tires. The multi-ply, heavy-duty equipment tires required an extra processing step using a specialized tire shear to cut them into smaller pieces before feeding them into the main shredders. For the HDPE pipe sections, a Navy industrial shredder was used to handle the size, shape and hard plastic composition.
By conducting the shredding operations directly on the installation, the team bypassed the immense logistical strain of shipping intact, bulky tires and pipe stateside for disposal. The industrial grinders reduced the rubber tires into uniform, highly compacted chips. Once shredded, half of the end product was hauled to the base’s municipal solid waste landfill for use as daily cover, and the other half was staged in a scrap tire monofil for future use.
Eliminating Hazards and Looking Forward
"Transforming a legacy disposal site into a functional footprint is a massive win for NAVSTA Guantanamo Bay,"remarked NAVFAC Southeast Environmental Director Mary Oxendine."This project highlights the incredible collaboration between base and region personnel, NAVFAC Southeast, and our industry partners. We didn't just clean up a hazard; we repurposed the material to directly benefit the installation, setting a high standard for environmental innovation."
Removing this massive buildup significantly reduced critical fire and vectorhazards. Rubber tires burn at extremely high intensities and are notoriously difficult to extinguish, while stagnant rainwater trapped inside whole tires creates ideal breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes and vermin.
Through robust construction and modernization efforts, NAVFAC Southeast delivers the mission-critical facilities necessary to sustain warfighters and their families across the southeastern region.The recent groundbreaking of the $227 million ambulatory care center at NAVSTA Guantanamo Bay underscores the command's ongoing commitment to building a more resilient, capable, and supportive environment for those who serve.
About Naval Station Guantanamo Bay
Naval Station (NS) Guantanamo Bay is located approximately 430 miles (700 kilometers) southeast of Miami, on the southeastern coast of Cuba. Established in 1903, it is the United States' oldest overseas military installation and the only one in a communist country. According to the United States' lease with Cuba, the U.S. retains jurisdiction while Cuba maintains sovereignty over the 45-square-mile (116-square-kilometer) installation, which is surrounded by a fence line that stretches over 17 miles (27 kilometers).
About Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southeast
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, provides planning, design, construction, contracting, environmental services, real estate and facility maintenance for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Space Force, and other federal agencies across the Southeast. Its area of responsibility covers installations from Charleston, South Carolina, to Corpus Christi, Texas, and extends south to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
| Date Taken: | 07.27.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2026 13:32 |
| Story ID: | 570802 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 31 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Tireless Effort: Team Clears Decades of Accumulated Tires at NAVSTA Guantanamo Bay, by Yan Kennon, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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