Old tires draw mosquitoes and can spark fires.
In an effort to collect the tires, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) annually awards grants to communities. This year, $1,105,000 in funds was given to 55 community scrap tire cleanup efforts across the state.
Monroe County received a $19,000 EGLE grant. London Township got a $6,000 grant.
“Piles of scrap tires are breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other pests and are a serious fire hazard,” said Dan Rock, Recycling and Green Community’s program coordinator. “By accepting this grant award, we can continue to offer this important (tire collection) program and ensure proper disposal of tires for the health and safety of our community and environment.”
Monroe County’s public tire recycling collections are held the fourth Wednesday of the month, April through July. The final collection of 2025 will take place from 9 a.m. to noon July 30 at the Monroe County Drain Commission, 1005 S. Raisinville in Monroe. Monroe County residents can drop off up to 10 passenger vehicle and light truck tires. Tires must be clean and off the rim. Those with large tires to recycle should call the Environmental Health Office at 734-240-7900.
“(The grant) essentially pays for the hauling and processing of the tires. This work is conducted in partnership with the Jail Alternative Work Service (JAWS) and Monroe County Drain Commission,” said David Wesoloski, public health planner and communications coordinator for the Monroe County Health Department.
Wesoloski said Monroe County has offered tire collection events for almost two decades.
“We’ve collected over 128,000 tires since 2004 alone. Tires collected at these events will be recycled into materials for new uses, such as playground and landscape applications, rubberized asphalt road projects, in-fill material for synthetic athletic fields, rubber chips for septic fields and other engineered projects,” Wesoloski said.
London Township uses its EGLE funds for tire collections that are part of spring cleanup events.
“We usually get two semi-trailers to put the tires in. The first couple of years, we filled both of them. This year, we filled one full,” said Penny Turner, London Township supervisor. “I apply for grants for the tires and different grants for the dumpsters. This has been a huge success for our township. It helps residents to get their properties cleaned up. We as board members volunteer our time for the day to assist people with unloading their items. We have also, in the past, had residents volunteer for the day. Sometimes we can get the Monroe County Red Shirt Program to send inmates to assist. We have been having these clean-ups since I was elected as supervisor, so about five years.”
For more information about tire recycling, visit Michigan’s Scrap Tire Program’s webpage at Mi.gov/ScrapTires.
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Got old, unwanted tires? Dispose of them free July 30, last local collection of 2025
Reporting by Suzanne Nolan Wisler, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
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