Illinois EPA Completes 19 Used Tire Collections Throughout State

COOK COUNTY, IL — The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency recently sponsored a number of tire collection events throughout the state. Between April and June, the agency's contractor removed around 428.7 tons of used tires. The EPA said that number is equivalent to 37,919 passenger car or truck tires that have been dumped across Illinois

"Used and waste tires serve as a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes, which pose a potential public health threat," Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim said in a news release. "Illinois EPA's used tire program is a great example of our assistance to local governments by removing used tires from collected from public and abandoned properties."

Several local mosquito abatement districts participated in the collection, including:

• Des Plaines Valley Mosquito Abatement District — 7.68 tons removed on May 23
• North Shore Mosquito Abatement District (Northfield) — 3.49 tons removed on April 3
• Northwest Mosquito Abatement District (Wheeling) — 1.01 tons removed on May 10

According to the EPA, money from the Used Tire Management Fund is used to hire an environmental contractor to remove and dispose, or recycle, tires recovered by local highway departments. Many of these tires are found dumped at public properties, including roadsides, public parks, and abandoned sites.

Dumped tires can result in contamination of the air, land, and water, while also serving as habitats for disease-carrying insects, particularly mosquitoes, according to the EPA.

Through the Used Tire Program, the used and waste tires are then properly disposed of at a registered, commercial used tire processing facility in Illinois. Some of the tires are retreaded and reused, while others are recycled into a variety of products and uses.

The Used Tire Program is funded by a $2.50 per tire fee that consumers pay when purchasing tires at retail. Additional information on the Illinois EPA’s Used Tire Program is available here.