PB proposal targeting waste-tire dumping shelved

PINE BLUFF — A proposed ordinance that would have imposed fines of up to $1,000 on people caught illegally dumping waste tires in the city was pulled from consideration during Monday night’s City Council meeting after council members decided the ordinance was unenforceable as written.

The ordinance would have required business owners to maintain records of all tires taken in for recycling or disposal, to store tires securely in such a way as to prevent water from pooling inside them or where they would be accessible to rodents, to keep a dumpster on site for disposal of waste tires, and to mark each tire with a unique identifying mark.

Failure to adhere to the provisions of the ordinance would subject violators to a fine ranging from $250 to $1,000 per violation.

At least one business owner expressed opposition to the ordinance, saying the greatest burden would be placed upon businesses that are trying to operate properly.

“I think this needs a whole lot more research to figure out how to do this because it’s going to be a nightmare to enforce,” City Council member Win Trafford said. “We’re just putting an extra burden on people who are doing things properly and who are already in compliance.”

Kevin Wilson, owner-operator of Big K Tire Service in Pine Bluff, said the requirement to keep a dumpster on site and the tire marking requirement would be problematic.

“If I put a dumpster on my site, overnight it will be filled up with tires from people hunting for a place to dump their tires,” Wilson said. “Then, because I don’t have a record of where the tires came from, I won’t be able to take them to the recycling center.”

Wilson, who is licensed by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to transport waste tires, must maintain a manifest of all tires he picks up from dealerships around the county, and to list how many tires from each he keeps for resale and how many he disposes of.

He told the City Council that he doesn’t oppose doing something to combat tire dumping in the county, but he said the solution is not to impose a greater burden on operators who are doing things right.

“I haul my own tires,” he said. “I have a transporter license. I take all my tires to the recycling center. I pay all of my taxes like I’m supposed to. Every dealership in Pine Bluff, I haul their tires from them and I dispose of them like I’m supposed to.”

Wilson said the problem is with tire shops that don’t have the necessary permits, which means they aren’t allowed to dump tires at the recycling center.

“They’re taking the tires and doing whatever with them, and that’s how they wind up out in the woods or clogging up the ditches or whatever,” he said. “They can’t take them to the recycling center because they have to have all of the necessary permits, licenses and insurance, so they just get dumped.”

City Council member Glen Brown Jr. said the ordinance was pulled from consideration to give the City Council more time to research the issue and come up with a more workable ordinance.

“As written, this ordinance is problematic,” Brown said. “We need to take the time to do it right.”