KANSAS CITY, Mo -- There is a push to clean up the city's unsightly problem with waste tires.
Every year, there are hundreds of thousands of tires purchased in Kansas City. However, instead of being properly disposed or recycled, the tires are sometimes illegally dumped on private property, parks or vacant lots.
It is a problem all too familiar to resident Charles Melton, who has been asking city leaders to deal with the eyesore for more than a year. He says the piles of rubber breed mosquitoes and illness, while creating blight in neighborhoods.
"It's a massive problem and it's going to get worse unless we start holding peoples' feet to the fire," said Melton, standing near a frequent dumping site at 14th and Jackson.
There are state laws regulating the handling of tires, but resources do not allow investigators to consistently enforce and punish violators, according to Gary Majors, manager of Kansas City's Regulated Industries Division. Majors said the state only has one part-time investigator who oversees a 15-county area.
"Right now, you can dump with little chance of getting caught or little chance of getting a fine," Majors said. "It's just the easier way out."
As a result, a committee has been crafting an ordinance that will tighten up tracking and enforcement of tire distribution and disposal for the city's estimated 600 dealers. The proposal will likely call for an annual $250 fee for all people who sell tires in Kansas City. The item will likely be sent to the City Council for consideration at the beginning of 2010. Because of the new fee, the committee is recommending it be placed on the spring ballot so voters can weigh in.
Mike Spady, a consultant with the Truman Road Community Improvement District, has also been a member of the waste tire task force writing the draft ordinance. He said some independent dealers and haulers avoid paying a $1.50 disposal fee per tire to boost their bottom lines.
"The fee gets pocketed and they drive somewhere at night and get rid of them," said Spady.
Eugene Beck, the long-time owner of Beck's Tire Service, said he has been following the proper disposal rules for decades. He would be happy to pay the extra fee if it helped level the playing field.
"We just need to make sure everyone is doing it the right way. Regulations are excellent, but until they're enforce, they are pretty weak," Beck said.
The fee would raise an estimated $120,000, according to Majors. It would fund two full-time city investigators. The program would also act as a liason for neighborhoods to secure grant money for waste-tire cleanups.
