Recycling center offers Tire Amnesty Days

Do you have some old tires you want to get rid of but don't want to pay the disposal fee?

Erek Wilson, director of the Greene County Recycling Center, has the solution to your problem.

The recycling center will host Tire Amnesty Days starting Oct. 1 and continue until a recent monetary donation is gone.

The recycling center received $1,000 from the Greene County Health Department to help get rid of unwanted tires, and in the process help prevent West Nile disease.

"With that $1,000 we can recycle about 500 car and truck passenger tires," Wilson said. "Those are just regular-size vehicles that are on the road every day.

"If we have people with big semi tires or loader tires, usually those come from commercial-type places. There will probably be a charge for those. A fee on a tractor tire is pretty hefty, and I don't want to chew up all the money on those."

Wilson said people can bring in up to 10 tires per visit (once per day) and dispose of the tires for free.

"When people come in they need to check with a staff member. We have two people in the office eight hours a day," Wilson explained.

Why do the program in the fall instead of the spring or summer when the mosquitoes are bad?

"A lot of people think we don't have to worry about mosquitoes now in the fall, but this will help get rid of a lot of tires before the spring. Tires with water in them is what causes the problem," Wilson said.

The Greene County Recycling Center, located south of the U.S. 231/State Road 54 junction, is open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It's closed on Sunday, and will be closed Oct. 10 and Oct. 12 for Columbus Day.

If you have any questions about the program, you can call 659-3788 or 1-800-281-1930. If you want to learn more about the Greene County Recycling Center, you can check out its Web site www.greenecountyrecycles.com .