SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and St. Clair County Health Department recently sponsored a Units of Local Government Used Tire Collection in St. Clair County. Illinois EPA’s Used Tire Program provides funding through the Used Tire Management Fund to cover costs of the event. An environmental contractor removed the tires collected during the event. The initial collection was held on September 21 and 22, 2021 at an Illinois Department of Transportation site in Lebanon. Collection activities concluded on October 11, 2021. The collection activities in St. Clair County resulted in the collection of approximately 110.22 tons, or approximately 9,797 car, truck, and tractor tires from the various townships and municipalities of St. Clair County.
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“Our used tire collections are part of the Illinois EPA’s efforts to assist local governments in providing and maintaining a healthy environment by removing used tires from public and abandoned properties,” said Illinois EPA Director John Kim. “Used and waste tires that are not properly managed pose a public health threat by serving as a primary breeding habitat for disease-carrying mosquitos.”
These collections are made possible through the cooperation of units of local government who assist in the coordination of the collections, allowing the Illinois EPA to properly dispose of the used and waste tires that have been collected from public properties, including roadsides, public parks, and abandoned sites. Dumped tires can contaminate air, land and water and serve as habitats for disease-carrying insects, particularly mosquitoes. Removal of tires throughout the year further reduces the threat of mosquito-borne diseases and minimizes the threat of tire-related fires.
Through the Used Tire Program, used and waste tires are properly disposed of at a registered, commercial used tire processing facility in Illinois. Some tires are retreaded and reused, and others are recycled into a variety of products and uses. The Illinois EPA's Used Tire Program is funded by a $2.50 per tire fee that consumers pay when purchasing tires at retail. Illinois EPA recently released the Used Tire Program Biennial Report which is available on their website at https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/waste-management/waste-disposal/used-tires/Pages/facts.aspx.
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