BLUE RIDGE, GA – Chief Land Development Officer Marie Woody announced at the September 26 Fannin County Commissioner’s meeting that the county had received a scrap tire grant.

Woody had been working since earlier this year to secure this allocation. The grant, issued by the State of Georgia, will fund the financial costs associated with removing scrap tires from Fannin County.

Residents can bring tires for disposal on certain dates in the month of October. The next expected disposal dates will be in March of 2018.

The grant totaling $15,950.00 will remove approximately 30,000 tires from our area. Previous efforts to eliminate scrap tires from Fannin County resulted in the removal of 8,000 tires.
At this time only car and small truck tires will be accepted.

Woody released the following statement regarding the Scrap Tire Removal and Grant:

Fannin County was recently approved for a $15,950.00 grant by the State of Georgia to aid the county in disposing of scrap and abandoned tires. The grant will enable us to collect scrap tires from residents living in Fannin County. Residents can drop off (10) ten tires per week per household. Tires must be free of water, dirt or mud and rims. This is only for car tires. Other vehicle tires will not be taken at this time.

We will have two amnesty tire events the first dates will be October 2-5, October 9-12, October 16-20, October 23-26 and October 30-31, 2017. The next dates will be March 5-8, March 12-15, March 19-22, and March 26-29, 2018.

We would like to encourage Fannin County residents to take advantage of this grant and dispose of their unwanted tires. This would help eliminate mosquito habitats as well as provide an opportunity to clean up the surrounding area. Since tires are not biodegradable for many, many years this will be a good opportunity for us to do something for future generations.

The tire disposal offer is being extended to county residents only. We will not collect tires from dealers, service stations, tire centers or retail businesses. The only requirements will be to complete a brief information sheet, listing the number of tires and the location where the tires originated, with name, telephone number and address.

Funding for the grant was made possible by the citizens of Georgia, citizens like you and me. We are still required to pay the $3.00 disposal fee when tires are purchased, so don’t think that if you take your tires home from the tire dealer that you don’t have to pay this service. Legislation was passed in the 1990’s that enable tire dealers to charge a fee for tire disposal at the time new tires are purchased.

It is wonderful to see this grant awarded to Fannin County. We would like to thank the Fannin County Road Department for their assistance in collecting abandoned tires along county roads. This task is essential in our efforts to keep our roadways safe and clean.

Tires may be dropped off to the Road Department, located at 229 Aska Road, Blue Ridge, Ga 30513.
If you have any questions, please call Marie Woody at 706-258-5170.