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Recycling Tires

Dear Editor (of Devils Lake Journal),

I will open this with a question. Where do you think your old tires go when you buy new ones? There are some of the larger tire retailers that are able to get them recycled. However, many places have someone that is permitted by the state to come and ‘dispose’ of the unwanted tires. Meaning most of them go into landfills.

There have been stories in the news lately about a Hamar man who’s farm is fenced with tires. Firstly it was not mentioned that he had a permit at some point to gather these tires. That is where they came from. Do you think that the state would grant him permission to gather the tires without asking where they were going? It has already been shown that he had a letter stating that his usage was acceptable. At some point the state no longer approved of the use or the number and asked him to stop collecting them. Fine, that is understandable.

Secondly, those tires have been there for a long time. As a seven year resident of Tolna I know they were well established fences when I arrived. So why in the world would the state now decide that he has to remove the tires from his property after years of them being there?

The state has cited fire hazard as one reason. The fact is that is takes a lot to make a tire burn. Far more than a grass fire, which would also be unlikely as these are grazed paddocks. Also, since the tires are arranged in lines it seems that if they should alight, it would be possible to break the line on either side with a tractor and contain the fire. The tires themselves would not be the cause of a fire or all of our cars would be fire hazards. Most in this area are aware of the slight risk but feel it is in fact only minimal.

The states second reason is rodents and mosquitoes. This is a very rural area rodents are everywhere so that doesn’t seem valid. With the acres and acres of flooded lowlands creating swamp conditions all around nearby Stump Lake, everyone I have talked to laughs at the idea that mosquitoes are a big threat from those tires.

Where would the tires be if not in a fence? Probably the dump where, of course, there are no rodents, mosquitoes or fire hazards. So basically the state is planning to bankrupt a rural family for having an unusual recycling idea.

What I would like to know is at what point does a persons accumulate stuff become a hazard in the eyes of the state? How many tires can a person have stacked around their property before the state comes to visit? How many tractors are allowed to be stashed in the shelterbelt outback? Who doesn’t have a trash pit out in the field in these rural areas?

No I don’t think these are the best solutions all the time either, but perhaps the state should consider spending our tax dollars on developing tires that are less detrimental to the environment. Or on more effective means of recycling, ones that don’t charge so high a price that people will actually be able to do it.

If the state spent more time, effort, and money on those pursuits they would have less time to worry about what the little guys who are trying to make a difference are doing on their own private property.

Chris and Novina West, Tolna, ND