2021

The Number of Discarded Tires Increases in Forests

Winter for car owners means taking care of changing the tires of their vehicles. Every year, the volume of hazardous waste – tires – left in forests increases significantly. In the first days of November, more than a hundred irresponsibly discarded tires were found in the forests of JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM).

“The issue of disposing of used tires gets worse every year when changing tires, especially before the winter tires are replaced in the autumn. In the first week of November, two such cases were recorded in the forests of Vidzeme region, with large quantities of tires left in forests. On 2 November, we found 54 discarded tires in Ropaži District, and on 4 November, more than 80 tires – in Vēru District,” says Guntars Kampernovs, LVM Rietumvidzeme Region Forestry Manager.  

LVM reminds that it is illegal to dump waste in forest. Persons performing such an action are held administratively liable; moreover, they must compensate LVM for the losses caused by waste collection. If you notice a place in a forest with a pile of waste, you can inform the State Environmental Service by using the “Vides SOS” mobile application. Also, in the “Vides SOS” application, people are encouraged to report any suspicious vehicles seen in the forests of Latvia.

The amount of waste left in forests is growing every year. Last year, a total of 2 543 cubic metres of waste was collected in the territory of Latvia's State forests; since 2018, the amount of waste collected has increased by 30%. 60% of the collected waste is municipal waste, 25% – construction waste and 15% – hazardous waste, including tires and slate. Tires are classified as hazardous waste because they do not decompose in nature and emit harmful chemical compounds during combustion.