Proponents of a tire recycling program near Neenach hope the idea gains traction in other parts of Los Angeles County.
“The system worked here,” said Paul Henreid, president of the Neenach/Oso Town Council.
And, he has a message for the people of the Santa Clarita Valley: “Put on a pair of gloves and get it done.”
By getting it down, Henreid means, getting involved in a once-a-year tire recycling program – finding discarded tires, collecting them and then recycling them.
In the Neenach area – rural and remote enough to entice people to dump tires – the highly-successful tire recycling program is called, We Brake For Tires.
“I don’t know if it’s an issue in Santa Clarita, but it’s an issue here,” he said.
Now, however, people motivated by the Neenach/OSO Town Council picked up the slack and “got it done.”
“The interior Antelope Valley between Highway 138 and Lancaster Road from Fairmont 190th to Antelope Acres 93rd St is now tire-free,” Henreid said.
“I estimate that in the last year we cleaned up around 300 tires to eliminate the problem – for now.”
His message for the Los Angeles County – specifically, its 5th District of which the SCV is apart of and AV Illegal Dumping Task Force – is simple: “Thank you.”
“That’s the message I have for the county (Department of Public Works) and that is, ‘Thank you,’”
According to Public Works officials, about ten million waste tires are generated annually.
Waste tires that are illegally dumped or improperly stored can pose a serious threat to public health and safety, as well as to the environment. The result can be urban blight and significant costs to residents.
Waste tires can serve as a nesting area for pests and a breeding ground for mosquitos which can spread encephalitis and other illnesses. Waste tires can also catch fire and release toxic smoke.
The county’s message to all residents is: “Help the environment, waste tires need to be recycled.”
Photographer Jeff Zimmerman, who took photos of the cleanup and of discarded tires, said: “Illegal dumping harms ground water, harms wildlife, breeds pestilence and unwanted disease. Trash and tires are extremely harmful to the environment.”
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