City Wants to Buy Your Old Tires

New money, for old tires. That’s one of the ideas behind a tire drop-off pilot program an Augusta Committee approved this week. News 12’s Jorge Lopez is on your side with how you could cash in if the commission signs off on it.

It could take a 100 years for tires to breakdown and now the city wants to fix it by paying you for them.

Changing tires for a living is well, tiring.

tyrepyrolysisplant“They are heavy, they are tough. Tires are bigger now than they ever been,” said Darren Smith.

But it’s also hard to get rid of them.

“They are just not biodegradable. They just will not go away anytime soon,” Smith told News 12.

Illegally dumping tires could get you a fine or even land you behind bars. Paying shops like Smith’s 3 bucks will save you the headache, but taking them to the city landfill could fill your pockets.

tyre-recycling

“Some people like to take their tires home. They have good intentions of putting them on another car or trailer, but sometimes it doesn’t get done and end up on the side of the road,” he said.

You’ll have two choices if commissioner give the ok Tuesday. You can drop off tires on certain dates at different locations or you could wait till they buy them from you, two bucks for up to 10 tires. And to get rid of a tire the proper way–well it’s just like shredding paper.

“All of our qualified suppliers that pick our tires up and dispose of them take them to shredding company,” Smith told News 12.

Government certified tire recyclers change Smith a $1.50 for each tire–bigger tires can run between 8 and 10 bucks. Last year, about 2000 had to be thrown away, but Smith won’t see any breaks this year because the program is only for you and not businesses.

Developing this program would replace the tire pick-up the county used to do before switching to a new trash pick up system. Before you could put 4 tires on the curb with your trash for pick up.

Illegal dumping can cost you anywhere from $100 to $1000 in fines and if you get caught twice it could be a felony.

The article source: http://www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/City-wants-to-buy-your-old-tires–293920531.html