The final monthly tire collection of 2021 recently took place and the year’s calculations are in. What began as an event intended to be a yearly occurrence, the Summers County Tire Collection quickly transitioned to monthly. At the first event, in May, a total of 3,500 tires were collected. The numbers did not reach that high with the subsequent events, however, the total for the year is a massive, 5,615 tires.
This program is funded by a grant from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The lot used for the collection belongs to Safe and Sound Security Systems Inc. The Hinton Full Steam Ahead Facebook page recently posted a “thank you” to all involved in the program. This includes Safe and Sound for the use of their lot, the City of Hinton for its support and all of the citizens who got involved.
According to the post, they “aim to get funded for 2022.” If funding is secured, it will allow the program to continue in the new year.
The tire collection is part of the DEP’s REAP (Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan) program. According to a report from the DEP based on final reports from select 2021 REAP grant recipients, 467.53 tons of litter was disposed of throughout the state.
For more information on the REAP grant program, go to www.dep.wv.gov.
