PRINTER'S NO. 398
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
80
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY CRUZ, YOUNGBLOOD, BURGOS, HILL-EVANS, MILLARD,
KINSEY, JAMES, MURT AND NEILSON, FEBRUARY 11, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON URBAN AFFAIRS, FEBRUARY 11, 2019
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 impacts on 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 clean-up 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
West Nile and Zika viruses; and
WHEREAS, Additional dangers, including waste tire pile fires,
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are equally hazardous and release toxic gases into the
atmosphere that adversely affect the lives of human beings and
the surrounding ecosystem; and
WHEREAS, The smoldering waste tire pile fire that occurred on
March 14, 1996, 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 1.5 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 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
Philadelphia to establish a year-round program providing for
the safe and adequate disposal of illegally discarded waste
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tires.
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