Every year, thousands of illegally dumped tires accumulate in Orleans Parish — next to houses, under the interstate and in certain pockets of the city, posing safety and environmental hazards.

Now, city officials are urging law enforcement to dig into the longstanding problem and explore new policies to address it. City Councilmember Eugene Green, who represents areas that are hotspots for tire dumping, called for a federal investigation into the issue at a news conference Friday.

The news conference was held in front of a pile of hundreds of dumped tires on the corner of Law Street and Spain Street in St. Roch.

“I hope the feds take a look at this in terms of whether this is organized illegal activity,” Green said. 

The state Department of Transportation and Development has collected over 60,000 dumped tires in New Orleans East alone over the past two and a half years, said the agency’s Scott Boyle. The clean-up efforts cost taxpayers over $300,000, and hazards arising from the tire piles, like a tire fire a few years ago along Interstate 10, meant millions in damage.

“This is a real issue that impacts not only the community and the residents that live in the area, but everyone,” Boyle said.

Efforts to strengthen enforcement in New Orleans follow recent initiatives at the state level, where an estimated 4.6 million waste tires are dumped each year. The city has led previous efforts to address the issue, but hundred-tire piles are still cropping up around New Orleans. 

Environmental risks

The masses of dumped tires pose environmental and health risks to those living nearby and far beyond, said Cheryn Robles, environmental affairs administrator within the city’s office of resilience and sustainability. Tire fires can release noxious gas into the environment. 

At the same time, these sites become breeding grounds for mosquitoes during hot summer months, and toxic chemicals can seep into the soil and water. 

“These tires are definitely going to have oil on them, so that’s going to get into the drainage system,” Robles explained. 

Illegal tire dumping in New Orleans

A pile of approximately 100 waste tires sits next to a house in the Seventh Ward. Local and state officials are trying to address the longstanding issue of illegally dumped tires, which poses environmental and safety risks. 

BY JOSIE ABUGOV | Staff writer

Catch basins within the city eventually drain into Lake Pontchartrain, she noted, impacting fisheries and recreational sites. 

“You do not want that stuff getting into the drainage system,” she said. 

‘We can do better, New Orleans’

Green said he wants federal officials to track certain vehicles coming from out of state to make sure they’re legally disposing tires. 

“It’s not just local people getting rid of tires,” he said.

The council member said he believes people from nearby states, like Mississippi and Alabama, are dumping tires in Louisiana under elevated interstates that typically lack light and drone coverage. People are coming from out of state to Louisiana “because we have a reputation for not enforcing,” Robles said. 

While officials said the issue is bolstered by out-of-state actors, Robles noted that it also stems from small shops dumping tires after receiving the disposal fee, rather than taking the tires to the designated facilities. The city has installed some crime cameras around certain hotspots. 

On Friday, NOPD officers and Louisiana State Police stressed the need to mitigate the hazardous eyesore. In addition to law enforcement efforts, some of the other policies under consideration include adding lighting under the interstate and implementing a program where residents could receive a $1 reward for dropping off a waste tire at a designated location. 

“We can do better, New Orleans,” Robles said.