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Cumberland County OKs two six-hour tire collection events at 15¢ per pound
Summary
County commissioners approved two tire collection events (spring and fall), each six hours, charging the public 15 cents per pound and contracting with a tire recycler; trustees will help with labor and the events will be held at the county barn.
Cumberland County commissioners voted to hold two county-run tire collection events in 2025 — one in spring and one in fall — each lasting six hours and charged to participants at 15 cents per pound.
The vote came after a presentation from Justin Miller, who described the program’s logistics and costs and recommended keeping the 15¢ per pound fee used the previous two years. "...the numbers that comes out say that we should charge 15¢ a pound, which is what we've done for the last 2 years," Miller said during the meeting.
Miller told commissioners the county ran multi-day collection drives in 2022 and 2023 and is proposing a spring-and-fall model in 2025 to ``add a little bit of convenience'' for residents and to increase the likelihood of securing a stable crew of trustees to handle heavy tires. He said transportation costs from the recycler rose from $2.75 per freight unit last year to $4.50 this year, but that after comparing multiple vendors the county found one with a slightly better overall price once part-time salaries and food costs were factored in.
Miller said the county intends to continue using county trustees to keep labor costs down and will hold the events at the county barn. He described efforts to limit illegal dumping and the public-health risk of tires as mosquito habitat, showing photos from previous events to illustrate volume and handling.
Commissioners moved and seconded approval of holding the two events and charging 15¢ per pound; the motion passed with all in favor.
Clarifying details provided in the meeting: the county intends to contract with the vendor identified in staff materials (named during the presentation as Mon Tongo/Mahatonga Tire Recycling in remarks), oversized tire surcharges will remain at prior-year levels, and the county will not use vendor labor but instead rely on trustees to keep costs down. Specific event dates were discussed in general terms (one mention of September 19 as a possible warm-weather concern) but final calendar dates were not specified during the vote.
Looking ahead, staff said they will work with finance to issue purchase orders to the selected recycler, begin advertising the events, and monitor whether the 15¢ per pound fee needs adjustment if costs continue rising. Ending: Commissioners thanked staff and volunteers for the program and encouraged participation; no further action was required to implement the approved events.
