DeKalb County officials have announced a $250,000 initiative to clean up eight major illegal tire dump sites throughout the county. The effort, led by CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson and supported by county leaders and operational teams, has already resulted in the removal of more than 37,000 tires from neighborhoods, commercial areas, and private properties.
“This is not just a cleanup — this is a reclaiming of our communities,” said CEO Cochran-Johnson. “To put this into perspective: if the 37,000 tires we have removed were laid end to end, they would stretch 20 to 25 miles — the equivalent of the entire Atlanta Beltline loop or the distance from Midtown Atlanta to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. That is what our neighborhoods have been forced to live beside.”
The operation is managed by DeKalb County’s Sanitation Division and Beautification Unit with Ricky Crockett as lead coordinator. Of nine identified sites, one at 3747 Presidential Parkway was previously cleaned by the Environmental Protection Division. Four additional sites have been cleared and are awaiting final inspection on December 3, 2025. The remaining locations are expected to be completed by late December, weather permitting.
Sites include residential backyards in Lithonia, commercial corridors along Covington Highway in Decatur, steep slopes near State Farm property in Atlanta, and church properties. Some locations pose challenges due to difficult terrain such as wooded ravines and abandoned buildings.
CEO Cochran-Johnson addressed the nature of illegal dumping in her remarks: “We must confront a difficult truth,” she said. “Much of this dumping is not accidental — it is organized environmental crime. We have documented cases where a business drives into our county at night and dumps 3,000 tires in a single incident, leaving taxpayers and communities to pick up the pieces. That is unacceptable.”
She also reaffirmed DeKalb County’s commitment to enforcement and prevention measures while supporting legislative changes at the state level. The county advocates for amendments that would allow reimbursement for projected cleanup costs in hard-to-reach areas before project completion; permit counties to seek reimbursement on behalf of municipalities with service agreements; and provide additional state funding for large counties dealing with widespread illegal dumping.
This initiative marks one of DeKalb County’s largest tire remediation efforts as part of its Reimagine DeKalb agenda aimed at reducing blight and improving public safety.
Enrollment at DeKalb County schools declined by 2.2% during the 2022-23 school year compared to the previous year (https://www.gadoe.org/). In total, there were 98,287 students enrolled during that period (https://www.gadoe.org/). White students made up about 14% of the student body within DeKalb County schools for that academic year (https://www.gadoe.org/).
