Illegal dumping of waste tires is a crime.
It creates potential human health and safety as well as environmental risks to South Carolina communities. Consider:
- Tire piles collect rainwater and provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes that transmit West Nile Virus and other illnesses.
- Stored outside or illegally dumped, tires can leach toxic chemicals that contaminate soil and water.
- Tire piles are a fire hazard. Scrap tires burn easily. Fires can be started intentionally or unintentionally, are extremely difficult to extinguish, and may burn or smolder for weeks or months. Fires generate oil that fouls soil and water and release toxins that are dangerous to human health and wildlife.
- Illegal piles also become a magnet for additional dumping and other criminal activities. As a result, property values decrease, and the community becomes unattractive to commercial and residential developers.
Beyond those risks, tire piles are extremely expensive to clean up and consume valuable community and state resources to control.
Do Your Part to Reduce Illegal Dumping
The "See It, Report It" campaign – developed in partnership by DHEC and PalmettoPride – encourages residents to report illegal tire dumps in their communities quickly and anonymously.
Residents can call PalmettoPride's Litter Busters Hot Line at 1-877-7-LITTER or use the "Report a Litterbug" option online. All information is held in strict confidence and the caller's identity is not released.
Another option for residents to report tire piles is to contact their SCDES Environmental Affairs Regional Office directly.
Protect Your Property from Illegal Dumping
Landowners – by law – could be held liable for cleanup costs if the responsible party is not found.
Given that, if you own property that is susceptible to illegal dumping you can take the following actions:
- Restrict access to your property with fencing, earthen berms, gates, etc.;
- Install surveillance cameras;
- Solicit support of neighbors or adjoining property owners to monitor suspicious activity;
- Form a neighborhood watch patrol;
- Install no trespassing/no dumping signage and other signage that indicates that violators will be prosecuted; and
- Report illegal dumping activities as quickly as possible.
To learn more about PalmettoPride, South Carolina's anti-litter non-profit organization, visit palmettopride.org.