Santa Cruz County tire take back aims to reduce mosquito breeding
UPDATE 10/04/18 7:10 p.m. Abandoned tires are not just an eyesore, they are a health issue too.
Santa Cruz county officials are planning a tire take back for the week of October 13th, to help minimize the amount of abandoned tires throughout the county.
One of the biggest concerns surrounding abandoned tires, they are a popular breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Paul Binding with mosquito vector control says, “they can breed a lot of mosquitos it’s amazing, all the leaf matter goes in there and there’s a lot of rotting stagnant water in these tires so if you can get rid of them you’re doing the environment a favor and your doing mosquito and vector control and your neighbors a favor.”
Vector Control Ecologist, Amanda Poulsen has been helping trap and test the pests for three years, she says living in a coastal town there are some misconceptions, “a lot of people assume that we don’t have mosquitos, in this county. we are lucky that we’re coastal that our climate keeps down the mosquito population and the virus doesn’t spread as easily, but it is still here.”
There have been two birds found with West Nile virus in Santa Cruz this year. That virus can spread from birds to humans through mosquitoes.
Aside from attracting mosquitoes, tires are also a fire danger and when they break down they can cause environmental issues because the toxins begin to release.
The free tire take back will go from October 13th – October 20th at the following locations during normal business hours:
-Santa Cruz Landfill, 605 Dimeo Ln. (Santa Cruz residents)
– Buena Vista Landfill, 1231 Buena Vista Dr., Watsonville
-Ben Lomond Transfer Station, 9835 Newell Creek Rd., Ben Lomond
-Watsonville Waste & Recycle, 320 Harvest Dr. (Watsonville residents)
This year through the tire take back held in April and from crews picking up tires on the side of the road they have already collected more than 2,300 tires.
Mosquito Vector control located on Capitola Road will be having an open house at the end of the month to give residents a more in depth look at what they do.
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Abandoned tires are not just an eyesore, they are a health issue too.
Santa Cruz county officials are planning a tire take back for the week of October 13, to help minimize the amount of abandoned tires throughout the county.
Tires are a popular breeding ground for mosquitoes and when they break down can cause environmental issues.
The free tire take back will go from October 13th – October 20th at the following locations:
-Santa Cruz Landfill, 605 Dimeo Ln. (Santa Cruz residents)
– Buena Vista Landfill, 1231 Buena Vista Dr., Watsonville
-Ben Lomond Transfer Station, 9835 Newell Creek Rd., Ben Lomond
-Watsonville Waste & Recycle, 320 Harvest Dr. (Watsonville residents)
KION’s Ashley Keehn will have more at 5 p.m. & 6 p.m
