Free collection service offered by the state

Contact:  Fred Kirchhoff 502-564-6716

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 15, 2007) – Area residents can drop off unwanted tires from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, May 17-19, at the state Department of Highways garage, 2.5 miles west of Ashland on U.S. 60.

This service is offered by the Division of Waste Management in the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet with assistance from county government and the Transportation Cabinet. Waste tires are collected and recycled through “beneficial end use” markets to become products such as tire-derived fuel or crumb rubber mulch. 

The Waste Tire Amnesty Program is financed by the Waste Tire Trust Fund, which receives $1 from the sale of every new tire purchased in the state. The fund, authorized by the 1998 General Assembly and extended in 2002, is dedicated to managing scrap tires and developing sustainable markets for recycled tire products.  

More than 14 million scrap tires have been collected during amnesty days and illegal dump cleanups since the program began in 1998. For more information, go online to http://www.waste.ky.gov/branches/rla/Tire+Amnesty.htm  or contact the division at 502-564-6716.