Recycling Center sets ‘Tire amnesty’ event

Submitted information

Van Wert County residents who have used automobile or small vehicle tires to dispose of can do so for free on Saturday, October 8, at the Recycling Center, 1135 N. Washington St. in Van Wert.

Residents will be able to bring up to four regular vehicle tires at no cost, but each additional tire will cost $1 per tire. Larger tires will be priced by size. The “tire amnesty” will run from 8 a.m. until noon that Saturday.

The “tire amnesty” program, a joint effort between the Van Wert Solid Waste Management District and the Van Wert County Health Department, is funded by a mosquito control grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Although no Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been identified yet in northwest Ohio, discarded tires holding standing water are the ideal type of habitat for “zika” mosquitoes, as well as mosquitoes carrying the West Nile Virus.

The Recycling Center accepts used tires at any time throughout the year for a fee of $5 per passenger car or truck tire. Larger tires are priced by size.