HARLINGEN — To help keep the environment clean this weekend, everyone in the Valley is allowed to drop off four car tires lying around the yard or found illegally dumped.
“We urge local residents to utilize this free opportunity to dispose of used tires and do their part to provide a safer and cleaner environment for the entire Rio Grande Valley,” said Ron Garza, Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council executive director.
Tires can be dropped off at 13 different sites this Saturday.
Many city and county tire collection sites across the Valley are taking the tires free of charge for proper shredding and disposal.
Garza said this collaborative effort has resulted in the collection and proper disposal of more than 35,000 tires that may have likely been illegally dumped, posing serious health, fire and drainage concerns.
The project started with input from local leaders and city managers.
“Illegally dumped tires are a huge and critical issue for our region,” Garza said. “It is a much larger issue than we realize.”
He said this is kind of an out of sight, out of mind issue.
“We don’t really see it on a day-to-day basis of how much it is affecting our area,” Garza said. ‘The collection effort is really just step one of addressing this issue.”
He said they really want to move the Valley more toward recycling.
“This is just a way to create awareness of how dangerous this can be,” Garza said. “There are health concerns because piles of illegally dumped tires serve as breeding ground for rodents and mosquitoes.”
Garza said tires are prone to catching fire and they release harmful toxins and are in our canals and floodways.
“This is the first step and we need long-term solutions,” Garza said. “It is projected that there are more than 1 million illegally dumped tires in our region.
“Tires are tough because you just can’t put them in trash cans,” Garza said. “This is a good, free way to get rid of your tires.”
WHAT: “Round 3” of the “Road to Recycling” Regional Tire Collection Project
WHERE: Local city and county sites. See map
WHEN: Sat., Oct. 7
TIME: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
– Landfill waste
– Toxin release
– Fire risk
– Pest threat