Editorials

OUR OPINION

June 24, 2008

Tire pile bill would put state on the right road

IF STATE LAWMAKERS were ever to give rubber-stamp approval to a bill, it should be the one that state Sen. Lisa Baker recently proposed regarding used automobile tires.

The bill, which passed the Senate earlier this month by a 46-3 vote, would steer $15 million in recycling money toward one of Pennsylvania’s most pervasive environmental woes – unsightly tire heaps.

The money would be spent over five years, targeting the removal of some of the commonwealth’s largest and most dangerous tire piles. In Duryea, for example, the so-called Coxton Yards site contains an estimated 100,000 castoff tires. Another site in the same borough holds almost double that number, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Baker, the Republican senator from Lehman Township, has proposed that $3 million per year from the state’s Recycling Fund be reauthorized to pay for the labor-intensive task of collecting and properly disposing of these tires.

It’s shameful that some area residents contributed to these dumps and local officials allowed the blight to become overwhelming. Today, removing the mountainous piles from the region’s landscape goes beyond the scope of what could be accomplished by determined, weekend-warrior volunteers.

Yet the problem shouldn’t be allowed to fester any longer. The black rubber rings can serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other disease-carrying vermin. Plus, if set afire, the hard-to-extinguish material puts pollutants into the air and water.

Moreover, what does it do to a community’s collective psyche if its residents live near a place shrouded in ugly tires?

For those and other reasons, Baker’s bill should roll forward in the state House of Representatives.

Area residents, meanwhile, can help to stop the unsavory practice of illegal dumping (be it yesterday’s treads or other trash) by reporting suspicious activity to police. And take advantage of free recycling programs such as Luzerne County’s tire drop-off program, scheduled for October.

Restoring the region’s long-abused lands will take a sustained effort, but allocating state money for tire cleanup over five years puts us on the right road.

Don’t dump

• For information on how to properly discard vehicle tires and other materials, call the Luzerne County recycling hot line at 1-800-821-7654.

• Also, a free tire drop-off program for Luzerne County residents is planned for October. Watch for details in a future edition of The Times Leader or call the county’s recycling hot line.

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