According to CryptoPotato, Stronghold Digital Mining, a leading cryptocurrency mining company, is planning to use tire-derived fuel (made of shredded vehicle tires) in its operations in Pennsylvania. This move has been met with opposition from locals and green activists due to the toxic process of burning tires, which contaminates the air, water, and soil. The Guardian reports that Stronghold seeks to burn tires and use the generated energy for bitcoin mining, a controversial move due to its anti-green nature. While the company claims it will repurpose waste, others argue that the process causes pollution and is highly dangerous for people's health. Burning tires releases toxic chemicals into the atmosphere that can be linked to cancer, lung diseases, or birth defects. Stronghold spokesperson Naomi Harrington told The Guardian that substances like tire fuel are needed when the quality of the coal refuse is low in energy content. She also revealed that Stronghold has already obtained a permit to test the use of tire-derived power and now aims to secure authorization to use 78,000 tons of it. The US Environmental Protection Agency has previously described burning vehicle tires as a preferable method to landfilling them. However, residents of Carbon County, Pennsylvania, where Stronghold houses its facilities, have protested the plan. Lawyers and environmental activists have also voiced their disapproval, claiming that burning tires poses a risk to the health of people living in the region and is a last resort for disposal. Rob Altenburg of the local environmental group PennFuture argued that the only reason Stronghold wants to employ tire-derived fuel is to reduce its costs. In addition to planning to use energy derived from burning tires, Stronghold has already turned to coal waste to generate electricity for its supercomputers. The company extracts coal ash located in a mine in Pennsylvania that has been left behind for decades, which could contaminate soil and groundwater if not isolated. The byproduct is then transferred to its boiler building, where it gets burned, and the electricity powers Stronghold's mining activities rather than using and potentially damaging the national electricity system.