The Numbers Are In! Jefferson County Residents Dispose of Nearly 5,000 Tires at Ritchie’s Free Drop Off Event

State Senator Patty Ritchie has announced that Jefferson County residents disposed of nearly 5,000 waste tires totaling 70 tons at a free drop off event hosted last weekend. 

The first of its kind in Jefferson County, Senator Ritchie’s free waste tire drop off was the most recent in a series of similar events she has hosted in St. Lawrence and Oswego Counties, which aim to help clean up our region and rid roadsides and yards of waste tires that have the potential to act as breeding ground for up to one million disease-carrying mosquitoes. So far, more than 35,000 tires have been collected in the region Senator Ritchie represents through her waste tire drop off events.

“I’m so glad that so many people across Jefferson County took the time to pitch in and get rid of waste tires in their yards and on roadsides,” said Senator Ritchie.

“I would especially like to thank the Jefferson County Solid Waste Department and Jefferson County Highway Department for the hard work they did to make the event such a success.  Thanks to everyone’s combined efforts, we were able to dispose of nearly 5,000 waste tires, which represents a huge step forward in cleaning up our region and continuing to fight back against mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.”

Last weekend’s event was made possible through special grants Senator Ritchie secured in the State Budget to help “Fight the Bite” and prevent mosquito borne diseases, namely Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile.   In recent years, Senator Ritchie has worked to deliver more than a half million dollars in State Budget funding to help fight EEE and raise awareness of the dangers posed by mosquitoes.