T.I.R.E.D. of Tires

Tire Initiative to Reduce and Eliminate Dumping

Did you know that illegal dumping of tires is a felony?Atlanta, Georgia 2012

A project of NPU-V & NPU-L in partnership with ECO-Action

Illegal Tire Dumping Tires found in NPU-V’s

Mechanicsville Neighborhood

The Facts

• Approximately 275 million tires are discarded each year across the United States.

• In 2003, the EPA estimated that 27 million are dumped illegally in landfills. Additionally, scrap tires are also illegally dumped at other locations.

• As of 2007, 128 million scrap tires were in stockpiles.

• In Georgia alone in 2010, approximately 9 million scrap tires were produced. It is estimated that 1 million of those were illegally dumped.

• Around 15% of scrap tires taken are returned to customers.

The Neighborhoods

NPU-V NPU-L

Total Population: 14,198 Total Population: 6,148

http://174.37.215.145/client_resources/government/planni

ng/2010census/2010censusbroch_npu_v.pdf

http://174.37.215.145/client_resources/government/planni

ng/2010census/2010censusbroch_npu_l.pdf

Total Population

NPU-L & NPU-V = 20,346

Sources: City of Atlanta 2010 Census Summary Report

http://174.37.215.145/client_resources/government/planning/2010census/2010censusbroch_n

pu_l.pdf

Community Snapshot

Sources: CDP 2010 Census Summary Report

http://www.summerhillatl.org/storage/CDP_2011_NPU_V_forecast.pdf,

http://174.37.215.145/client_resources/government/planning/2010census/2010censusbroch_npu_l.pdf

Percentage of Illegally Dumped Tires Mapped by

Neighborhood 2012

Source: crime data, www,atlantapd.org/crimedatadownloads.aspx.

Tire data, collected 2.29.2012-3.10. 2012.

There is a strong correlation (0.84) between illegally dumped

tires (mapped) and crime.

Correlation Between Illegally Dumped Tires and Crime 2012

Distressed Properties 2010

Sources: City of Atlanta 2010 Census Summary Report http://

http://www.atlantaga.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=2833

The Hazards

Water & Ground Concerns

• Tires illegally dumped onto

the ground or into the river

pose a health hazard for

humans.

• Tires cannot be buried; they

tend to rise to the surface

because of their chemical

components. Some of these

toxic chemicals include:

sulfur, paraffin, carbon

black, oil, and polymers.

• These materials cause

potential hazards to the air,

soil and water, regardless of

whether the tires are buried

or put into piles.

Proctor Creek, Atlanta, GA in English Avenue

Neighborhood

Pests, Rodents, & Insects

• Many disease carrying pests live in tire piles. Tires provide warm places for rodents (i.e. mice and rats) and stagnant water for insects to breed (i.e. Mosquitoes).

• In addition to being the normal pests that all mosquitoes are, several varieties carry West Nile Virus.

Tire Fires

• Tires also catch on fire. Rubber fires are difficult to put out and burn a long time. In addition they also emit a hazardous chemicals into the air and can contaminate the soil with an oily residue.

• This disrupts and damages the environment, exposing people and animals to toxic chemicals, placing people and their homes at risk for fires.

Where the Rubber

Meets the Road

• How Tires are Used (and not

dumped):

– Tire-derived Fuel (TDF)

– Ground Rubber (Playgrounds,

Running Tracks, etc.)

– Civil Engineering (tire shreds

used in landfill construction,

septic tank leach fields, and

construction applications.

ECO-Action NPU-L & NPU-V

Tire Collection Initiative Spring 2012

The Beginning February 2012

•ECO-Action, several NPU-V organizations, English Avenue Neighborhood Association and Community Improvement Association identified illegally dumped tires as a top priority.

•Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research at Georgia State University Institute of Public Health contacted Liberty Tire Recycling to donate their services.

•ECO-Action hosted community meetings to talk about the date for the pick up, the needs for supplies, volunteers, funds, resources, and strategy.

Tire Mapping

• Community residents, GSU

Department of Geosciences

faculty (Drs. Timothy

Hawthorne and Katherine

Hankins), and two GSU

students went out to map

the locations of tires.

• Over 1,600 illegally

dumped tires were

mapped.

February 29th & March 2nd, 2012

* GPS units provided by GSU Department of Geosciences

English Avenue Tire Clean-Up

Supplies and Food & Beverages provided by: WAWA, Fulton County Adopt-a-

Stream, Micah Rowland, Telenavigators, and GSU’s Gamma Theta Upsilon

Geography Honors Society.

March 3rd, 2012

•English Avenue

neighborhood residents,

sector leaders, GSU faculty,

GSU student volunteers, and

ECO-Action helped collect

over 500 tires for recycling.

NPU-V Tire Clean Up

March 10th, 2012

– Community residents, GSU

student & faculty volunteers,

probationers, and ECO-

Action volunteers collected

nearly 3,000 tires.

The Pick-Up

March 10th, 2012

– Volunteers worked from 9 am-1 pm.

– Liberty Tire picked up tires from English Avenue &

neighborhoods within NPU-V.

– 510 Cohen Street, in the Pittsburgh community, estimated

to have 250 tiresCactually had 2,000.

The Pick Up

March 12th, 2012

•ECO-Action, GSU students, and NPU-V residents volunteered to help with the final tire pick up.

•Liberty Tire Recycling recovered 3,527 tires.

The Outcomes

• 3,527 illegally dumped tires were recycled by Liberty Tire Recycling from NPUs –L & V.

• Additional hot spots and illegal dumping sites were identified. Dixie Hills Neighborhood

(NPU-J) houses over 5,000 tires.

Dixie Hills, Hidden Village Apartments, Atlanta, GA.

The Outcomes• Organizing and

removing waste with a focus on recycling can make a difference in the community

• Partnerships have formed, and citizens have learned about the problem of illegal tire dumping

• One of the volunteers was hired by Liberty Tire! Dewey saw how hard he worked and offered him a job on the spot!!

Illegal Tire Dumping Press Conference;

March, 8th, 2012

510 Cohen St. Atlanta, GA 30310

Before After

870 Proctor St. Atlanta, GA 30318

Before After

Next StepsNow that you knowB.

1)Don’t illegally dump tires!

2)Get involved in community efforts and help make

a difference . YOU make a difference.

3)Get to know Georgia laws and help enforce

them.

4)Start organizing and planning with your local

community groups and local businesses to see if

they can donate services and supplies.

5)Lobby and work with your elected officials to

develop a new bill and advocate enforcement to

combat illegal tire dumping.

How to Report Illegal Dumping

• Enforcement of current Georgia laws– Report illegal dumping: Copy the license plate and

make of the vehicle, along with the time, date, and place that the dumping took place.

– Call your local Crimestoppers organization or your local law enforcement agency

• In Georgia, it is illegal to:– Litter or dump waste on any public or private property,

including highways, streets, alleys, parks, lawns, fields, or forest lands; and

– Litter or dump waste on any public or private waters, including fresh water lakes, streams, canals, rivers and tidal or coastal waters.

At the Policy Level

• Develop new laws

– H.B. 811 passed the Senate, but the original language of the bill was gutted,. Ultimately, the bill was not pass for it’s intended purpose.

– It is critical to get in touch with your City Council representatives and State representatives about supporting this policy, and others like it.

• Learn from other states and organizations

– See different policies that are in effect now.

Thank you to all our

Sponsors & Partners

Community Engagement/Outreach Core &

Environmental Core, Center of Excellence

for Health Disparities Research (CoEX)

GSU Gamma Theta Upsilon Geography

Honor’s Society (GTU)

Special Thanks• Dr. Yomi Noibi, ECO-Action Executive

Director

• Dewey Grantham, Liberty Tire Recycling

• Tire Initiative Members: Chandra Gallashaw,

Travie Leslie, Douglas Dean, Columbus

Ward, Demarcus Peters, Margaret Hooker,

Doristine Samuel, Marshall Thomas, Micah

Rowland, Cheryl Case, Mary Anne Adams,

Tony Torrence, Cleta Winslow,

Councilwoman, District 4, and all our NPU-V

& NPU-L and GSU volunteers.

Acknowledgements

• Presentation compiled by: Cheryl Case, MA GSU

Community Engagement/ Outreach Core,

Center of Excellence for Health Disparities

Research (CoEX), and Tal Kitron,

Environmental Law Fellow, ECO-Action (Environmental Community Action)