PRINTER'S NO. 381
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
79
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY CRUZ, YOUNGBLOOD, V. BROWN, C. PARKER, COHEN,
THOMAS, D. COSTA, HARHART, MURT, JAMES AND McCARTER,
FEBRUARY 9, 2015
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
FEBRUARY 9, 2015
A RESOLUTION
Urging the City of Philadelphia to establish a year-round
program providing for the safe removal and adequate disposal
of illegally discarded waste tires.
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives notes the various
issues associated with the improper disposal of waste tires,
including the economic, environmental and health impact that it
poses to the landscape, property values and residents of
Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives acknowledges that there
exists a critical need for the City of Philadelphia to implement
a year-round tire cleanup program and to invest or participate
in environmentally safe tire recycling programs established
within this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Waste tires pose an even greater threat to the
health and welfare of the residents of Philadelphia as they
collect rain water and serve as an optimal habitat for breeding
mosquitoes, which may be the carriers of the potentially fatal
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West Nile virus; and
WHEREAS, Additional dangers such as waste tire pile fires are
equally hazardous and often release toxic gases into the
atmosphere which adversely affect the lives of human beings and
the surrounding ecosystem; and
WHEREAS, On March 14, 1996, the smoldering waste tire pile
fire that occurred near an I-95 overpass in Philadelphia is
proof of the impact of waste tire pollution; and
WHEREAS, According to the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection, in 1996 it was estimated that 36
million waste tires were discarded in piles throughout
Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Notwithstanding the successful collaboration between
the General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection and local governments in past years, it
is estimated that there are approximately 2.43 million waste
tires that still need to be cleaned up in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, The establishment of a year-round waste tire removal
program would effectively address the public health issues and
have a positive impact on our environment as a result of safe
and proper waste tire disposal through the use of tire
remediation facilities; and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives encourages the City of
Philadelphia to increase the scope of its current Tire Round Up
program by evolving it into a year-round program; and
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia is further encouraged to
work closely with its city officials and to seek grants
allocated for the purpose of funding beautification projects and
other environmentally oriented programs; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the City of
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Philadelphia to establish a year-round waste tire removal
program for the purpose of safely and adequately disposing of
illegally discarded waste tires.
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