BENTON COUNTY, Wash. – Benton County Mosquito Control held its 20th annual tire recycling event in conjunction with Earth Day. This event provided residents an opportunity to dispose of unused tires safely.
Since its inception in 2005, the tire recycling event has helped safely dispose of over 80,000 tires. The effort aims to prevent mosquito breeding and promote environmental cleanliness.
“One tire can produce several hundred mosquitoes, so it’s really a good community service for us to be able to remove those tires and help to prevent mosquitoes,” said Stephen Ingalls, a field supervisor with Benton County Mosquito Control.
The event not only helps reduce mosquito populations but also serves as a public service by removing unsightly tires from the environment.
Ingalls emphasized the importance of disposing of unused tires.
“Disposing of the tires helps to reduce the numbers of mosquitoes in the field because mosquitoes aren’t producing out of those tires. But it also helps. It’s kind of a public service where we can get those tires out of the environment, because they’re kind of unsightly,” he said.
After collection, the tires are sent to Liberty Tire in Spokane for recycling.
“They shred them up, and then they find other uses for the tires. Sometimes they use them here in the U.S., sometimes they export them out of the country,” Ingalls added.
The event also serves an educational purpose by informing the public about the mosquito population.
“It is also an educational thing that people might not realize that tires can produce mosquitoes if they collect water,” Ingalls stated. Information about mosquito prevention is shared on social media and their web page.
For those who missed the event, tires can still be disposed of at Richland’s landfill.
