Hundreds of tires dumped in Indian River Lagoon finally being removed after decades | FOX 35 Orlando
Expand / Collapse search
☰

Hundreds of tires dumped in Indian River Lagoon finally being removed after decades

By
Published  April 21, 2025 6:26pm EDT
Brevard County
FOX 35 Orlando
'Tire Island': Crews work to clear out 500+ tires from Indian River Lagoon

'Tire Island': Crews work to clear out 500+ tires from Indian River Lagoon

Crews are currently working to remove 500+ tires from "Tire Island" in the Indian River Lagoon. Waterway Warriors stepped in to help with the removal. FOX 35's Esther Bower has more information on the removal.

The Brief

    • Volunteers with Waterway Warriors are removing hundreds of old tires from an island in the Indian River Lagoon near Cocoa Beach, where they were originally placed in the 1970s to prevent erosion.
    • The tires are now harming the environment, killing mangroves and polluting the water, prompting a large-scale cleanup and future restoration efforts.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Five decades of pollution is being removed from the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County.

The removal isn’t targeting normal problems like muck or excess nutrients. The issue right now is tires. Hundreds have taken over an island off Cocoa Beach, but they’re on the way out thanks to volunteers with Waterway Warriors.

Over 300 tires removed so far

What we know:

"They were just all over the place, I was really surprised," said Fred Goldstein, who originally noticed the tire pile about six months ago while out fishing.

Goldstein and a friend were fishing near the Banana River Aquatic Preserve and couldn’t believe it at first.

"We estimated 80 to 100 originally," said Goldstein.

That original estimate quickly multiplied when Waterway Warriors got involved to help and find a solution.

"321 tires have been removed to date," said Sharon Noll, who founded the Waterway Warriors IRL clean-up organization.

Since the initial removal a few weeks ago, 200 to 300 more tires are still piled up and waiting for pick-up on the shore.

Knoll says her group’s goal is to keep trash out of the Indian River Lagoon, but they’ve never worked on a project quite like this.

"Everyone got out there originally with pitchforks and shovels and grappling hooks and were able to dig them out from the sand," she said.

Why are the tires there?

The backstory:

Knoll says officials put the tires there to stabilize the shore decades ago.

"Apparently, back in the early ’70s, they were trying to prevent erosion in some of the Thousand Island Preserve islands," she said.

Now, they’re killing signs of life on the island. The mangroves are dead because the tires are a toxin.

"That is also creating elements and particles that go into the water, creating a toxic environment for the animals," said Knoll.

What's next:

Waterway Warriors is working with the county, using a grant to recycle more than 500 tires so they don’t end up in the landfill.

"People all over Brevard County and up and down in the Indian River Lagoon are really getting interested in cleanup," concluded Goldstein.

The rest of the tires will be removed from the island in the middle of May. The next goal for Waterway Warriors is to restore this island. They’re always looking for volunteers when they start that part of the project and for others.

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO:

The Source: The information in this article, obtained by FOX 35's Esther Bower, comes from Waterway Warriors clean-up organizers and local volunteers working near the Banana River Aquatic Preserve. Information was also provided by Fred Goldstein, a fisherman who first reported the tire pile. 

Brevard CountyNews