Former Largest Tire Pile Site, Rhode Island

The Davis Tire Pile in Smithfield was among the largest tire piles in the nation. It was finally cleaned up in 2000, when the last of more than 6 million discarded tires was hauled away. Historically, tire piles have occurred in places around the country, due to high disposal costs for the mostly un-reusable material. This has lead to some long lasting toxic fires, in some cases. More recently, finding uses for old tires has become an industry in itself, and most large tire piles have been cleared.