A man bought over 10,000 tires from local tire shops to dump them in various places around Salt Lake City, police say
When you take your car to a shop for new tires, the technicians remove the old ones and store them on-site. A recycling company then buys them at a low rate and takes them to a facility. The facility shreds the old tires into smaller pieces and repurposes them into playground mulch, asphalt, or fuel.
Police uncovered a disturbing scene last week, finding around 10,000 tires dumped at four different sites across the city. When detectives began their investigation, the first step was to ask local tire shops who’d been collecting their used tires.
Several tire shops had one thing in common: 30-year-old Ivan Cruz.
“[Detectives] were able to identify some handwriting or some markings on them, and through their own research, they were able to identify some tire shops where those matched,” Sgt. Aymee Race told KUTV.
“When a purchase was made of those recycled tires, they were able to actually track them to one of the dumping sites.”
Experts say rubber presents environmental hazards
“Dumping anything illegally that’s potentially hazardous, including tires, is really unfortunate,” said Nicholas Rupp, a spokesperson for the health department.
He told the outlet they have chemicals in and on them that can leech into the soil and waterways which can be harmful to wildlife.
When Cruz was detained, he admitted to dumping at two of the sites detectives found but denied dumping at the other two.
Viewers suspected there was more than meets the eye
“Tire shops know these people they hire are dumping them. It’s why they don’t do it themselves,” wrote a viewer. “They then charge customers $5 to $10 to dispose of an old tire.”
Others suggested Cruz clean them up before he goes to jail.
“He has a lot of tires to pick up before he can rest in a jail cell,” wrote another. “Or make him clean it up as part of his sentence.”
Many feared taxpayers would be on the hook for the cleanup fee.
“I need a follow-up on this story to see how much the taxpayers get stuck with for the clean up,” read a viewer’s comment.
