By ETHAN REDDISH Staff Reporter The City of Waycross will hold a three-day tire collection event for citizens this month, from April 20-23, at the Public Works complex.
Waycross Public Works Director Matthew Elwell explained the rational for the arrangement of the event on.
“For the past couple of years, we’ve done two month-long cleanups in April and October and had a special dumpster for one week in each district,” he explained. “This year, we’ve moved away from that and now we put a dumpster during the first week of each month in one of the four work zones on a rotational basis.”
Elwell said it was “more manageable” to deal with the dumpster one week per month over 12 months than all at once.
As for why this event is specifically focused on tires, Elwell put it simply: tires are a big littering problem around here.
“Because tires cost to dispose of properly, up to $10 to $15 per tire ... we find that a lot of tires are dumped on the side of the road at vacant, wooded areas, or in the canals which cause drainage issues,” he said.
As tires also are considered a hazardous material, “we want to do everything that we can to keep them out of the ground and getting mixed in with water.”
Waycross has a contract with Aggressive Tire Solutions in Baxley for tire recycling.
The public dumpster will be open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The service will only be available for Waycross residents. A driver’s license or utility bill must be presented for proof of residence.
“This is a great opportunity that we have to help protect the environment, clean up unnecessary litter, and we ask that all citizens do their part and help us continue keeping the city of Waycross, clean and safe,” Elwell added.
