MARLBORO COUNTY, SC (WBTW) – Marlboro County Council approved a tire amnesty program at its meeting on Tuesday.

Marlboro County Administrator, Ron Munnerlyn, said the county has a major issue with people hoarding tires in their yards.

“They’re everywhere, they’re in the woods, they’re on people’s property, we just have a huge problem with them,” Munnerlyn said. “We have a lot of folks that have dumped tires on their land, either because they just had them or they’re avoiding the fee you pay when you buy tires.”

The ‘Waste Tire Amnesty Program’ that the county approved at its last meeting, will allow county residents to bring their tires to the county, with no charge, for the entire month of April.

“You can bring those to us,” said Munnerlyn. “We will take them for free. If you have an excessive amount, like over 25, we’ll do it case by case.”

Danny Roberts has lived in Marlboro County his entire life, and said he will definitely utilize the program.

Roberts said he has more than 100 tires in his backyard.

“There’s probably a couple hundred tires back there,” Roberts said about his house. “When we first got here there were three or four-hundred tires out here, scattered about.”

Roberts said it costs him $2.50 per tire every time he takes them to the landfill, but said he does not have the money or the time to take them all.

“I’ve taken a few at a time to the dump station, but there’s still a whole lot left,” he said. “I can’t get rid of that pile of tires back there.”

The County Administrator said the tires are not only an eyesore, but bring mosquitos, rats, and even snakes to the county.

“You know how people throw them [tires] here, there, and everywhere,” said Roberts.

Roberts said he worries about the snakes in his tires, and has seen them in his backyard.

“They get back in the tires pretty fast so you can’t get them,” he said. “I’m not going to reach up in there and pull in there for them.”

Roberts said he’s excited to see the county step in and help with the issue.

“I think it would be great to have a place to dispose of them without charge,” he said.

Munnerlyn said the county operates under DHEC rules, which states the limit for the number of tires one person can have is 120.

“We’re just trying to get to a starting point where we can clean things up,” Munnerlyn said. “From there, we’ll enforce the law about hoarding tires and that sort of thing.”

Marlboro County will hold a county clean-up day on Apr. 14.