PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – Pinellas County Solid Waste is temporarily waiving tire disposal fees for local homeowners from Sept. 28 through Oct. 30, 2026, as county health officials step up efforts to stop the spread of dengue fever.
The move comes during an active mosquito-borne illness alert across the area. Several locally acquired cases of dengue fever have surfaced in the Tampa Bay region, prompting Pinellas County Mosquito Control to ramp up treatments, inspections, and property surveillance.
County officials noted that “a single tire stored outside can become a breeding site for thousands of mosquitoes” over just one season. When scrap tires sit in backyards or driveways, they trap rainwater and create ideal conditions for disease-carrying insects to multiply. Removing them helps eliminate those prime breeding habitats and lowers transmission risks…