WYTHE COUNTY, Va. – As part of the county’s dedication to reducing litter and highlighting the natural beauty of Southwest Virginia, Wythe County’s Solid Waste Department held a tire collection event last Saturday; program leaders say the free event was an overwhelming success.

In recent years, the locality has begun taking a tough stance when it comes to illegal dumping and county officials say the collection event provides an alternative to illegally disposing of tires.

“In total, we collected 2,854 tires from local citizens.  Thanks to this program, that’s nearly 3,000 tires that were legally disposed of free of charge – they won’t be dumped over mountain banks or along the side of the roads,” said Billy Bowers, Wythe County Solid Waste Director.

2016 marked the fifth consecutive year the county has hosted such an event and local leaders are crediting its tire collection drives for helping to reduce the number of illegal dumping – an action that can result in felony charges.

“The natural beauty of our community is incredible, programs like this help us keep it that way,” said Bowers.

After being collected, the tires were sent to a recycling center in North Carolina, where they will be turned into a variety of rubber based products, including playground mulch, landfill covers, floor mats and a countless number of other items.

In addition to the county hosted tire collection event, the local Farm Bureau also accepted commercial tires from Farm Bureau members.

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