City of Prichard removes dozens of tires illegally dumped on Aldock Road

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - FOX10 News is committed to getting you answers. We have an update to a story we shared Wednesday.

Dozens of tires illegally dumped on Aldock Road in Prichard were removed by the City of Prichard.

It all started when a concerned resident called FOX10 News about the tires asking us to check it out.

“We received about sixty tires yesterday from that area. We also took it to the tire landfill,” said TJ Pettway, Public Information Resource Officer for the City of Prichard.

Pettway says the City of Prichard doesn’t normally pick up tires, but they’ll do it in hazardous cases.

“The number one concern is to make sure that public health is always intact, said Pettway. “We normally don’t pick up tires- that’s one of the EPA regulations that we don’t pick up, but we do have special consideration to get those areas taken care of once they become a dumping sight.”

Before the tires were taken away, FOX10 News spoke to Thomas Baker, a long-time resident on Aldock Road. Baker was appalled at the mess.

“Why not care and take pride in your area where you live?” he questioned.

Baker says the dumping has progressively gotten worse.

“It’s like people just don’t care,” he added.

Baker says it isn’t just a sight for sore eyes.

“You have the mosquito build-up from dumping, and you have snakes, you have just the way it looks for the community,” he explained.

The City of Prichard used some brand-new equipment to dispose the tires.

“Now we have two new trash trucks in service and we have one rotation truck that actually we were able to dispatch for immediate needs within the city so that’s one new service we brought so we can respond quicker to dumping areas,” added Pettway.

While the city aids in cleanup, Baker says the lasting solution starts with the residents.

“Our city is Prichard and they’re doing the best they can do and I understand that. But we as citizens can do better than what we do when it comes to stuff just like this,” said Baker.

Pettway says the City of Prichard holds a yearly tire recycling program where residents can drop off their tires. This will happen sometime in November or December.

FOX10 News will update you when they announce that date.

Copyright 2023 WALA. All rights reserved.