Coweta’s Tire Amnesty Day takes place Saturday, Jan. 11

From Special Reports

Keep Newnan Beautiful and Coweta County are teaming up to host a Tire Amnesty Day on Saturday, January 11.

This event will be held at the Hunter Recreation Complex just off Highway 16 in Sharpsburg and will be the only location for the entire county. It begins at 8 a.m. and ends at noon.

“The biggest issue with discarding old tires is that they contain chemicals and heavy metals that leach into the environment as the tires break down,” says Page Beckwith, Director of Keep Newnan Beautiful. “Leaching affects the soil around the old tire. As tires sit on the ground, the toxins from the tires can seep down into the ground water. Old tires are hosts to all different types of pests, especially mosquitos. Mosquitos pose the biggest risk since they transmit blood borne diseases to animals and humans.”

Keep Newnan Beautiful received grant funding through the Georgia EPD Land Protection division. The funding for the Scrap Tire Programs and Government Amnesty days comes from the Solid Waste Trust Fund. This funding and the collaboration with Coweta County staff provides the opportunity for residents throughout Coweta County to get rid of any tires that might be lying around in their personal garage or dumped on their property. With the vast amount of land here in Coweta County, many residents have been plagued with the issue of old tires.

“Being able to get these tires out of our environment whenever possible is extremely important,” said Tim Shelnutt, Coweta County Code Enforcement. “We are excited to collaborate with Keep Newnan Beautiful again. Our County Commissioners and Staff are supportive of providing this opportunity to all Coweta County residents this year.”

Working with Coweta County last year, Keep Newnan Beautiful was able to remove 23 tons of junk tires from the environment. A Tire Amnesty Day is an opportunity for residents to remove this hazard from their respective properties. Typically, disposing of old tires can be costly. It costs between $6 and $10 per tire to take them to the dump. Being able to dispose of those same tires for little to no money is a big deal, says Beckwith.

This year the program will be able to take car and truck tires without rims for free.

Large Equipment tires will be $8 each. Passenger tires with rims will cost $5 a piece.  Tractor Trailer tires with rims will be $15.

The rim fees are not covered by the grant and are passed down by the processor. You can avoid the fees if you bring your tires without the rims.

“We hope that having one central location will allow us to take more tires and be more efficient this year,” says Beckwith. “Finding ways to consistently improve is important to our program and the programs we collaborate with, I am grateful that Coweta County is willing to provide the location and assist with helping staff the amnesty day again.”

The Hunter Recreation Complex located at 2970 Highway 16 in Sharpsburg, GA 30277.

For more information about the upcoming Tire Amnesty day, contact the Keep Newnan Beautiful office at 678-673-5505 or [email protected].

Pictured above: Tim Shelnutt of Coweta County Code Enforcement and Page Beckwith of Keep Newnan Beautiful.