6th
Annual Fugitive Tire Program Held in April 2004
This
past April, 6 area youth groups participated in PA CleanWays of Indiana
County's 6th Annual Fugitive Tire Program (FTP). This group of 48 youth
and 29 adults gathered 1,100 tires from the "wilds" of Indiana
County. Participating youth groups included Boy Scout Troop 13, Cub
Scouts Pack 13, Cub Scouts Pack 191, the Homer Center Eco Club, the
Rocky Hollow Riders 4-H Club, and the Unitarian Universalist Church
of Indiana Youth Group.
The purpose of the FTP is to educate youth within Indiana County on
the problems of improper waste disposal and to demonstrate to the community
the value of the program as a local "solution to pollution."
The FTP is simple - it gets youth out in the environment looking for
and collecting "fugitive" tires, tires that have escaped proper
disposal and end up along roadways and in woods, fields, ravines, and
streams. Youth groups are offered a "bounty" of 50 cents per
tire for the tires that they "capture" from these wild places
and bring in for recycling. Youth think finding the tires will be difficult,
but soon learn that improperly disposed of tires are everywhere and
other improperly disposed of trash often surrounds them. The exercise
is a real eye-opener on how much trash is spoiling our environment.
The FTP also gives youth a tremendous sense of accomplishment, pride,
and ownership for their role in cleaning up the environment. This year,
one group learned that illegally dumped trash could pollute the "community,"
while another group stated that their thinking about the environment
changed. This particular group is now "more aware of putting trash
where it belongs." In short, the FTP showed the kids that they
can be a part of the solution to pollution.
In addition, the FTP was truly a community team effort. 7 local tire
companies were solicited for tire processing at a reduced rate and pledged
to dispose of the collected tires at no charge. Many thanks go out to
Campbell Tire & Muffler, Lias Tire, Monro Muffler & Brake,
Rising Brothers Tires, Tire Corral, Tire Express Service Center, and
Valley Tire Company.
Since the program began, 9,757 tires have been collected by 47 youth
groups.
Financial and other support for this project is provided by the
Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant
with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Section 319 Program.
This page last updated:
May 28, 2004
