SEATTLE — Seattle city officials say illegal dumping of used tires is on the rise across the city.
According to Seattle Public Works (SPU), hundreds of used tires are waiting to be removed across the city.
“Everyone in South Seattle recognizes that we are kind of a neglected area,” Emily Alhadeff said.
For the past four years, Alhadeff has lived in the Rainier Valley and has seen quite a bit of crime there. She experienced it firsthand.
“About a month ago, one of my cars had three tires cut out,” Alhadeff said.
Now there’s another tire problem in her neighborhood.
“There was a serious incident of tire dumping. It’s just used tires being dumped in the alley,” Alhadeff said.
According to SPU, illegal dumping of used tires is on the rise across the city, with more than 700 tires waiting to be removed from public roads.
“They were piled up in the middle, like a dozen of them. Some had holes in them. There didn’t seem to be any problems inside,” Alhadeff said.
Alhadeff said that after reporting to the city multiple times, the city finally cleared up the mess last week. SPU said it can dispose of a small amount of tires each day.
The agency collected and disposed of 2,438 tires in October.
Alhadeff said: “It’s definitely an environmental issue. We don’t want these harmful tires near our gardens. One, it’s an eyesore. Three, it’s a public “If it is a right-of-way, it is a safety issue and an emergency vehicle is needed.” To overcome that and not be able to do that is a big problem.”
SPU announced that it has identified at least one person illegally dumping a significant number of tires. Investigation is ongoing. The utility company believes others are dumping tires on their properties as well.
“Obviously someone deliberately left trash in our alley and hoped they wouldn’t get caught,” Alhadeff said. “Or what they’re actually avoiding is having to pay dumping fees. So it’s a question of whether you want the city to take care of it or have your neighbor take care of it for you.”
SPU said there are other problems with tire dumps, in addition to being a bad experience in the neighborhood.
- pollute the environment
- Creates a breeding ground for pests
- May pose a threat to public safety
How much does it cost the city to remove and dispose of illegally dumped tires? A spokesperson for SPU sent KING 5 the following statement:
“Prior to the significant increase in illegally dumped tires, SPU was collecting tires on public land at transfer stations and disposing of them properly. Because we could no longer accommodate the number of tires, SPU signed a new contract with the Tire Recycling and Processing Station in October.”
If you see illegal dumping, you are asked to contact SPU at 206-643-3682 or report it on SPU’s “Find It, Fix It” app.
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