
DATE: Monday, June 23, 1997                 TAG: 9706230031

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  112 lines

ILLEGAL DUMPING OF TIRES CAUSES HEADACHES FOR LANDOWNERS, CITIES

Illegally dumped tires are more than just an eyesore. They're a fire hazard that can pollute the air and contaminate ground water.

``And they can be breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and possibly other dangerous animals, such as rats and snakes,'' said Marc Thornton, a recycling coordinator with Southeastern Public Service Authority.

Recycled tires, however, can be used to produce boiler fuel or steam for electricity, Thornton said. Finely shredded tires can be mixed with cement and asphalt to build roads. Or the shreds can be used to cushion the fall of children swinging on playground equipment.

Nonetheless, countless tires still are being dumped illegally throughout the nation.

In a survey taken in 1993 to determine the number of waste-tire piles in Virginia, the Department of Environmental Quality found 731 sites, with an estimated 17.6 million tires.

``Some of those have since been cleaned up, but then we continually get calls from people who have just bought property and find tires,'' said Steve Coe, a planner for the state's Waste Tire Program.

In addition, if the tires are dumped on your property, the cleanup is your responsibility.

Bill Brewster knows this all too well. Four months ago, Brewster wrote a check for $5,000 to dispose of more than 4,000 illegally dumped tires found on vacant property owned by Peck Recycling in Portsmouth, where he is manager.

``We had to do something, so we just chose to bite the bullet and get rid of them,'' Brewster said.

He's not alone.

Eddie Morefield, a plumbing, heating and cooling contractor, has been finding tires for months in a Dumpster he is using to renovate a building in downtown Portsmouth.

``I'd like to see it stopped because I just bought this building, and in the next two or three years, we're going to be putting $50,000 to $60,000 into it,'' he said.

The problem is not specific to Portsmouth.

``It's everywhere,'' said C.W. ``Luke'' McCoy, Portsmouth's deputy city manager.

Earlier this year in Norfolk, nearly 1,400 tires were dumped right next to the FBI building off Military Highway, said James Stanek, a hazardous-materials inspector with the Norfolk fire marshal's office. About two years ago, 3,000 tires were pulled out of a Norfolk lake.

``And that was one of the lakes we use for drinking water,'' Stanek said. ``So we have a major problem with tires.''

Alex Davis, administrator of code enforcement in Virginia Beach, finds his city in similar straits.

``People dump tires on public property, on roads that are out of the way, on vacant properties and on vacant lots,'' he said.

On public property, the city tries to remove the tires as quickly as possible. Otherwise, Davis said, ``it attracts more dumping.''

In an effort to help combat the problem, officials in each city would like to see citizens pay close attention to anyone who is littering or dumping illegally. Residents are asked to send the license plate number and a description of the driver to the city.

``Really, what we need is license plate numbers,'' Stanek said. ``If we could get that, then we could catch them all the time.''

If caught, the perpetrator could face a maximum fine of $2,500, plus up to a year in jail in most South Hampton Roads cities.

If more than 500 tires are dumped on public or private property, state laws go into effect, said Lora Fly, an enforcement compliance specialist with the Department of Environmental Quality. The maximum sentence for this crime, a Class 6 felony, is five years' imprisonment and a $2,500 fine.

``Maybe with awareness, people will get tired of it,'' McCoy said. ``That's part of the commitment that a community has to make.''

In Norfolk and Chesapeake, residents are allowed to discard two tires per trash collection day.

Virginia Beach allows its residents to place up to four tires, without rims, on the curb per collection day, but residents must call waste management at 430-2450 in advance.

``Now if somebody puts out four one week and then four another week, we may start asking questions,'' said Wade Kyle, Virginia Beach waste management administrator. ``We look at that a little close.''

Suffolk does not allow any curbside tire disposal.

``We won't pick the tires up curbside, but SPSA will take up to four tires at no charge from private citizens,'' said Donald Long, public services administrator. The tires must be brought to the regional landfill on Route 58 in Suffolk.

In Portsmouth, residents are allowed to discard only four tires a year. The city, which has a system of keeping track of each household's tire disposal, will pick them up free from the curbside.

Excess tires must be taken to an SPSA transfer station or to its Refuse Derived Fuel Plant on Victory Boulevard in Portsmouth.

SPSA charges 75 cents for each automobile or light-truck tire and $2.50 for tires with rims. Truck tires can be discarded for $5 each or $7 apiece with rims. Heavy equipment tires, like tractor tires seen on construction sites, carry a $50 charge.

SPSA shreds the tires into chips and burns the chips with solid waste to produce steam and electricity for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard power plant. MEMO: For more information about proper tire disposal, call SPSA's

recycling department at 548-2256. ILLUSTRATION: Robert Hayes, left, pulled these illegally dumped

tires from the Dumpster being used by his contracting business in

downtown Portsmouth. He says it has happened other times, too, and

then the company is responsible for disposing of the tires.

GARY C. KNAPP

HOW TO HELP

To report illegal dumping in:

Portsmouth, call the waste management department at 393-8663 or

the neighborhood quality division at 393-8522.

Norfolk, call the environmental hot line at 441-2536 or the fire

marshal's office at 441-2481.

Chesapeake, call the waste management division at 382-6010.