Tire-Free Rivers: Saint John River #, New Brunswick, Canada

Tire-Free Rivers

Saint John River, New Brunswick

Saint John, #91

Number 91, Saint John River
, September 24, 2008

I had my eye on this one, but every time I paddled toward it in my canoe, I encountered others and dealt with them instead.

So since this tire was on shore behind a local mall, I decided to pick it up with my car on my way to delivering Numbers 88-90 to the tire pile by the garage. No distractions.

This one took some time and effort, as grass had taken root in the muddy rim.

Some may say, "let Nature deal with it," but it would take centuries for it to rot away. They all must come out.

Number 91 has been left high and dry as the Saint John gets lower.	I flipped it over and dug out the middle of the clod from underneath. I cut through the rootball around the rim edge with the sharp edge of the spade, and pushed the centre out onto the ground.	I rolled the tire to the water to get it wetter and easier to clean out.
I then turned the tire on its side and pushed down on the edges. The soft clay began to ooze out from the rim. The roots did not extend into the rim, so it was just mud.	I used the spade as a wedge to pry out the rest of the guts. I cut it like sausage, and each time a bigger roll emerged.	The last half came out in one easy go. A quick rinse, then off for recycling.

Tire-Free Rivers is a non-profit volunteer crusade. Tire-Free Rivers is not affiliated with anything else. Nobody makes any money doing this.