County No Longer Accepting Used Tires

RISON - County Judge Donald Triplett informed the Cleveland County Quorum Court Monday night that the county will no longer be accepting used tires at the solid waste transfer station on Hwy. 79 in Rison.

The move comes as the regional program that was previously used to transport and dispose of the used tires across 10 Southeast Arkansas counties, including Cleveland County, ran out of money.

The Southeast Arkansas Solid Waste Management District, of which Cleveland County is a member, learned last year that the Jefferson County Tire and Waste facility would be closing due to noncompliance issues with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).

That facility located north of Pine Bluff accepted and shredded all the tires from the 10 counties that make up the district, which includes Cleveland, Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Desha, Drew, Grant, Jefferson and Lincoln counties.

Amber Thrower, director of the solid waste district, told KATV that the district had already paid the recycling center for the disposal of the tires, but once the permit was denied, the center stopped accepting tires. The district then used Liberty Tire Recycling LLC of Saltillo, Miss., for its disposal service while Get Rid of It, based in El Dorado, was used to transport tires.

Now, Thrower said the district’s money to pay for the service is gone, and as a result, used tires are piling up across Southeast Arkansas as tire shops and individuals are now responsible for finding a way to dispose of  their used tires. 

Stephen Harris, the owner of B&B Tire Center at Sheridan, told the television station that they are still collecting the state-required $3 disposal fee for used tires but none of that money is going back to them to actually dispose of the tires. 

Thrower also said during the interview that the solid waste district is in talks with Davis Rubber Company of Little Rock about accepting the tires.

To compound matters, Triplett also informed the quorum court th…