NEWBERRY — During our latest cleanup in the City of Newberry West End, we recovered six tires from the ditch and there was a call about an illegal dump of over 500 tires in Prosperity. This raises a question; does the public really understand what to do with old tires?

Tires are a huge problem in our state. There are many reports of “illegal tire dumps,” but there are also many single tires on the side of the roadways. This is litter, intentional or not. Tires can be recycled, but they must make it to the center to be processed. It is illegal to stockpile tires on your property or throw them out on the side of the roadways. Fines and cleanup fees can be expensive for landowners.

In Newberry County, you cannot leave tires out with your trash to be picked up by the Sanitation Collectors. Tires can be taken to the Transfer Center location at 11374 Hwy 34, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to noon. They will take two tires for recycling for free, then it’s $2 per tire after that.

When you purchase new tires from a dealer, you can expect to pay a state tire fee and a disposal fee. These fees cover the cost for the dealer to dispose of the old tires properly. In South Carolina, the fee is $2 per tire.

When tires are not recycled, they end up on someone’s property or in a landfill. They slowly decompose as tires can last hundreds of years. Tires left in piles can fill with rainwater which makes a perfect nesting ground for mosquitos. Tires also contain chemicals like benzene, oil and carbon which are highly flammable. While tires are difficult to ignite, the fumes will cause serious health problems when inhaled. Tires left on roadsides contain organic toxic chemicals like benzothiazole and zinc that can contaminate soil, ponds and the air. Those old tires in landfills cause carcinogenic and mutagenic chemicals as they degrade which may cause cancer and cellular damage.

Automobiles produce approximately 263 million waste tires annually in the United States. South Carolinians generate an estimated 5.1 million waste tires every year – about 14,000 per day. Recycled tires can be used for a variety of things such as construction materials or in the production of highway crash barriers. They can be turned into tire-derived fuel for boilers, thermal power plants and in cement, paper and mining industries. There are children’s playgrounds and parks that use recycled tires for surface cover. Running tracks at schools and athletic venues use this rubber modified asphalt. Recycled tire products can also be made into the cute welcome mat outside your front door. Imagine that?

To anonymously report an illegal tire dump, please call the Litter Buster Hotline at 1-877-7 LITTER or using the “Report a Litterbug” option at www.Keepnewberrybeautiful.com

In the long run, a few dollars spent on a disposal fee ($8 for four tires) is not a major amount of money and you help the environment.