(KAIR)--“Due to the overwhelming demand for tire disposal in [Atchison] County,” a new tire disposal program is being put in place.

That word comes in a release from Atchison County, which says the County- new program is set to start Thursday at the Atchison County Transfer Station, located at 8575 Neosho Road. From 8 that morning, until 3 that afternoon, County residents may dispose of their unwanted tires at that location.

The release explains that the “new temporary program will be open to accept tires each Thursday through May 18,” with the hours of operation to remain the same each Thursday.

Over the course of the temporary tire disposal program, County leaders “will determine the best structure for a permanent tire disposal program,” with the release noting that each Atchison County resident who uses the service will be limited to the disposal of 50 tires, and availability will be on a first come first serve basis.

A pre-disposal phone call to the Transfer Station, at 913-804-6005, is necessary before each visit to make certain they can accommodate each tire disposal need.

According to the release, the program does not require that tires be processed or removed from rims, but large agricultural equipment tires are not being accepted.

The need for a coordinated tire disposal effort became apparent to Atchison County leaders last weekend during the County's first time to host a county wide cleanup event.

Planned to run from Friday through Sunday, including the collection of tires inside the Atchison city limits, the event hit a snag early when the Atchison tire collection effort was forced to end Friday afternoon, just hours after it began, due to the number of tires received at the drop-off point. According to Atchison County, 3, 53-foot semi-trailers were filled up by that time, leading to the end of the collection.

Atchison County Commission Chair Casey Quinn, in social media post, said, following the clean-up, “it [has] been very eye opening to hear the generations and decades of tire needs that face [Atchison] County that need resources to assist in getting them cleaned up.”