We don’t think about our tires very often, unless one goes flat or you have skins on your car and need to replace them. And have you ever wondered where all that tire tread goes when they wear out?
Tires shed material while they’re being used. As tires wear and break down, all sorts of chemicals, microplastics, filling agents, oils, additives and nanoplastics are released into the air, soil and water. All of these particles make up about 2 million metric tons of pollution annually in the United States.
Our weather in the Keys (ultraviolet, hot road surfaces, salt water) can cause tires to wear down even faster. The powdered tire dust on the road is washed into waterways when it rains and then consumed by marine animals. Case studies show these pollutants cause disorientation and even death in aquatic life. These animals are a large part of the Florida Keys ecosystem, economy and diet. We are feeding these toxins to our families.
In a landfill, it takes about 2,000 years for a tire to decompose. Pollution from tire waste is a significant environmental problem.
Mosquito hotel suites
It’s not just tire wear, but old tires sitting around the yard are a pollution problem. A tire’s biggest fan is a breeding mosquito. Mosquitoes love tires. A tire of water sitting in the Florida sun is the perfect breeding environment for our most aggressive habitant, the mosquito.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water. Once hatched, a tire provides protection, warmth, water and even food for mosquito larvae. These pests carry diseases for humans, such as dengue, West Nile, and zika virus. The local marsh mosquito causes heartworms in our loving, four-legged friends.
Let’s roll with It
Until we reach Jetson’s technology, it is unreasonable to say we can live without tires. We need tires. We have tires for our automobiles, bicycles, scooters and golf carts. We can’t avoid tires, but we can handle them better.
To encourage proper tire disposal, Monroe County is partnering with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to host three Earth Day tire amnesty events. Monroe County residents with proof of residency can recycle up to six non-commercial tires (without rims) at no charge. Residents must be able to load the tires into the containers; upon request, assistance can be arranged. The tires will be hauled to American Tire Recycling in Miami, where they will be processed into rubber mesh granules. The granules are repurposed for asphalt or road surfacing, playgrounds, athletic fields and landscape applications.
Protect your health and our beautiful Keys and please look around your yard, garage or under your house for those old tires and bring them to one of Monroe County’s Tire Amnesty Events.
Monroe County tire amnesty event
Please be prepared to show proof of residency. Each resident can surrender six non-commercial tires without rims at no charge. If you need assistance loading the tires, please call Monroe County Recycling Coordinator and Outreach Liaison Melody Tuschel at 305-509-0325.
Three events will be held at three locations. The dates are Saturdays, April 20, April 27 and May 4 at Cudjoe Transfer Station, MM 21.5, Blimp Road; Long Key Transfer Station, MM 68, Overseas Highway; and Key Largo Transfer Station on County Road 905.
