The Montezuma County Landfill received 26,911 tires during a five-day program that waived disposal fees, according to Montezuma County Commissioner Larry Don Suckla.
Using the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 population estimate, that’s about one tire for each county resident.
Commissioner Suckla called the program a success.
“We did a lot of advertising hoping that people would show up,” Suckla said. “And boy, did they show up.”
The county has rented an industrial shredder at $25,000 a month, Suckla added. The shredder will grind up the tires, in addition to tree limbs, to create mulch and shreds for landfill cover.
“The grinder cost the amount of money it did whether we had 10 tires or 26,000,” Suckla said.
The next time the county hosts a similar program, Suckla hopes to offer free disposal in exchange for a can of soup for each tire. The cans would then be donated to local food banks.