San Rafael, CA – Old vehicle tires left outdoors pose a fire threat and provide a breeding ground for mosquitos, so the County of Marin is collaborating with three agencies to encourage tire recycling.
From October 12-26, the Marin County Department of Public Works (DPW) is working with Conservation Corps North Bay, Marin Sanitary Service and Waste Management Inc. to host three free waste tire recycling events. The locations are the Marin Resource Recovery Center in San Rafael, Redwood Landfill in Novato and Marin County Department of Public Works Corporation Yard in Nicasio.
One waste tire sitting outdoors with accumulated water inside it can produce thousands of mosquitoes each year. This two-week tire disposal event will help reduce fire hazards and prevent mosquito breeding that potentially could transmit West Nile virus, encephalitis and other diseases.
The three recycling locations are:
- Marin Resource Recovery Center, 565 Jacoby Street, San Rafael; open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays
- Redwood Landfill, 8950 Redwood Highway, off Highway 101 north of Novato; open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays
- Marin County DPW Nicasio Corporation Yard, 5600 Nicasio Valley Road, Nicasio; open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays
The collection program is limited to Marin residents and excludes businesses. Residents can bring up to nine tires per trip, limited to tires from motorcycles, passenger cars and pickup trucks. Tires will be accepted with or without rims.
The collaborating agencies hope to collect up to 4,000 tires this year. The program is funded through a grant from the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). Marin DPW has collected more than 30,000 tires at similar events over the past nine years.
“With the right amount of air pressure, your tires wear longer, save fuel, enhance handling, and prevent accidents,” said Michael Frost, Deputy Director of Marin DPW. “So remember to take good care of your current tires before properly recycling your old ones.”
Collected tires will be recycled into crumb rubber, which can be used as an ingredient in new tires, flooring material, asphalt, and engineering products for road construction or erosion control. Tires in good condition may be reused.