By Michelle Rice
East Atlanta once again holds the dubious honor of winning Council Member Natalyn Archibong’s annual Earth Day Tire Roundup. East Atlanta crews were responsible for more than 1,100 of the 1,675 tires collected on Saturday, April 16.
We like to think that’s because our volunteers were the most organized, and not because East Atlanta has the most dumpsites. Weeks before the roundup, we hit the Internet to ask about dumped tires and started combing the streets for them. Dead-end streets, abandoned houses and wooded ditches were checked for tires and many were spotted. We spent two days doing pre-roundups, stashing tires in a willing volunteer’s spare space.
On roundup day, about 20 volunteers and six pickup trucks raced to get all the tires to the drop point by 1:00pm. Armor Tire generously volunteered its parking lot as a neighborhood drop point. Several young men from East Atlanta Kids Club added their muscle and enthusiasm to the volunteer crews. Volunteers rolled tires downhill, lugged tires uphill, dug tires out of ditches and heaved tires into trucks, getting soaked with “tire juice” and covered in mud.
Volunteers may never get those clothes clean and they may be sore for a few days, but the satisfaction of getting 1,100 eyesores and mosquito breeders out of the neighborhood outweighs everything. Thanks to all who participated. Here’s to fewer tires next roundup.
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