JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The goal is to clean up the city and let people earn some easy cash in the process. The city of Jacksonville held its sixth annual Tire and Sign Buyback on Saturday in parking lot J at TIAA Bank Field.
Hundreds of people showed up to turn in old tires and signs for money, causing long lines as one truck after another pulled up to turn its trash into treasure.
The city has been doing the buyback for six years. Organizers said they usually collect around 20,000 tires each time they do it.
"We have a lot of the same individuals who participate, come back every year. I think they look forward to it every year. I think they do that because they wanna help Jacksonville clean up," John Pappas, director of public works, said.
Ronald Favinger said he collected 250 old tires in just two and a half days in the Northside neighborhood where he lives.
"They are all over the place,” Favinger said.
Others dropping off tires have become used to the process and have learned to make the most out of it.
The Frazees said old tires are just about everywhere. They have been picking up tires across the city since January and made six trips Saturday to drop them all off and cash in.
"It’s crazy, it’s just crazy," said Ivy Frazee. "People are just trashing them," Cecil Frazee said.
Trashing old tires is a big environmental concern for some people.
City leaders say this event helps combat some issues blight can bring to a community.
"It clogs up our creeks and our drainage systems. It’s not a clean environment and not certainly something we want to see our streams, our creeks, our roads," Pappas said.
All tires collected during Saturday's buyback will be recycled and used as fuel at a waste-to-energy plant.