MEMPHIS, Tenn.—Private brand tire marketer Del-Nat Tire Corp. gathered 1,273 scrap tires from a Memphis vacant lot April 26 during its second annual “Tires for Trees” tire clean-up event.
This represented a 50-percent increase over the 853 tires Del-Nat's volunteers gathered in the first “Tires for Trees” event last year, the Memphis-based tire dealer co-op said.
As with last year, Del-Nat will contribute $1 for each tire collected to the Memphis City Beautiful Commission toward the purchase and planting of trees in the city.
Jim Mayfield, president of Del-Nat, said the company feels “this is a perfect way for Del-Nat to contribute to our community by helping beautify our city and combating a health hazard by eliminating places —inside discarded tires—where mosquitoes can breed.
“You could say we're completing the cycle, from delivering new tires to properly disposing the used ones.”
Del-Nat's team of volunteers included employees, their families and friends. The collected tires will be recycled by Pittsburgh-based Liberty Tire Recycling.