CASS COUNTY, TEXAS – The Cass County Commissioners Court has received grant funding for a pilot program to assist in the disposal of used tires. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has authority per Texas Health and Safety Code (THSC) Chapter 361 to remediate unauthorized disposal sites but no appropriations to fund cleanups. To that end, Cass County has partnered with the Ark-Tex Council of Government (ATCOG), and Arklatex Tire Processing to provide for disposal of up to four tires per citizen during the cleanup period which is scheduled to run until the end of June.
Cass County is in a unique position to tackle this issue due to Arklatex Tire Processing’s active Land Reclamation Project Using Tires (LRPUT) site just outside of Linden, Texas. A LRPUT site is licensed by TCEQ and allows for used tires to be shredded and used to rehabilitate, improve, or restore already excavated, deteriorated, or disturbed land, using a mixture of inert fill materials to restore the land to its approximate natural grade and to prepare or reclaim the land for reuse, in this case reforested timber tracts.
Illegal tire dumping impacts public health and safety, decreases property values, discourages economic development, increases costs to local government, increases property taxes and service fees, and results in lost revenues. Furthermore, local government and private property owners incur significant operational maintenance costs associated with the need to continually clean up, haul, and dispose of illegally dumped tires.
Used passenger car and truck tires may be dropped off for disposal at any of the Cass County Barns as well as the City of Atlanta bulk waste drop off site near the Rabbit Water Tower. Please take this opportunity to dispose of any old used tires you may have during this program. Due to their size, tractor tires cannot be accepted as part of this program.
For more information contact the Cass County Judge’s office at 903-756-5181 extension 0.