BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — Bring your waste tires during Martin County’s limited waste tire collection event and get rid of them for free.

The event will run 8 a.m.-4 p.m. April 8 until April 12 at Martin County Road and Bridge, 45 Tomahawk Road in Inez.

Martin County Solid Waste coordinator Eric Phelps says the county gets $4,000 to sponsor the event.

“Usually that will pay for two tractor-trailer loads,” he said.

“If you have any tires you need to dispose of, bring them on those days and we’ll get rid of them. It won’t cost you anything. Just go in and tell the secretary who you are and how many tires you’re dropping off. We’ll keep a record of that and turn it in to the state to let them know the actual number of tires we disposed of.”

Phelps remind everyone that there are environmental safety reasons for people to rid themselves of waste tires, including the fact that they collect water and breed mosquitoes and many old tires contain contaminants.

“This is a way to keep old tires from ending up in our creeks and streams,” he said.

Tires that are dropped off will be recycled as crumb rubber, mulch, park benches and other products.

Any Kentucky resident can participate in the program, but tire retailers, scrap salvage yards and recycling facilities are prohibited.

Tires will be accepted on or off the rim, including truck, light truck, passenger, implement, lawn tractor, bicycle, motorcycle, golf cart, etc.

Tires not accepted include foam-filled tires, calcium-filled tires, off-road construction tires (OTR), rubber tracks and solid tires with/without press-on rims.

Kentucky’s Waste Tire Trust Fund, Department for Environmental Protection and Martin County provide funding for the event from the state’s $2 tire disposal fee imposed on each new tire sold at retail.

For questions, contact Phelps at (606) 298-2800.