City of Zanesville administration, led by Mayor Don Mason, is attempting to bring attention to an often unknown city service.

Old or discarded tires will be picked up, free of charge, on the condition that the residence is a customer of the city’s trash collection service.

Like many cities, Zanesville has its own garbage collection trucks and processing facility.

In Ohio, municipalities can not force citizens to purchase a private service, but as Mason explains, city trash collection is far cheaper than other private competitors.

Not only does the city enjoy the advantages of having a large customer base, which allows sanitation workers to stop at a majority of houses on each street, the cost savings allows the city to offer additional services that private companies don’t.

One of those services is that each city customer may have up to eight tires a year, as long as the rim is removed, picked up free of charge by city staff.

The service is quick, easy and ensures that the tires don’t end up as an eyesore in someone’s yard or in the environment as hazardous waste, Mason explained.

“We don’t want tires to end up in our creeks or hollows,” said Mason. “We want to ensure they end up safely disposed of.”

City Sanitation also picks up other larger objects, such as mattresses, with advanced notice.

Recently purchases by the city, new garbage bins will also allow operators on the collection trucks to use a crane-like device to pick up bins, saving roughly 15 to 30 seconds per stop.

During last Monday’s council meeting, Mason explained that the cost and time savings will greatly benefit the city as well as the strain on workers’ backs.

To have tires picked up by the city, call Sanitation at (740) 455-0615.

Once collected, the city works to ensure all tires are properly disposed of in accordance with federal and state regulations.