Discarded tires become crafts at Family Clinic in the West Zone – Rio de Janeiro City Hall

Discarded tires become art in the hands of health agents – Edu Kapps/Rio City Hall

From villains to allies to add color to the gardens of Primary Care units. Old and discarded tires, which could serve as a breeding ground for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, are transformed into various ornamental objects in a workshop set up at the Clínica da Família Sônia Maria Ferreira Machado, in Santíssimo, West Zone of the city. The project was created with the aim of reintegrating health surveillance agents who, for some reason, needed to take time away from field activities. Transforming tires into ornamental pieces, they now contribute to the fight against arboviruses by collecting old tires and transforming them into pieces for garden decoration and also toys.

Started two years ago, the project aims to encourage environmental health by removing inappropriately discarded tires from vacant lots or public areas near the clinic. The arts produced from an element conducive to the proliferation of mosquitoes are used in the landscaping of family clinics and municipal health centers, providing color to the units.

Tires are collected when, during vector control actions or in response to requests made by Central 1746, agents identify inappropriate disposal of these materials. The pieces are taken to the family clinic and, before undergoing transformation, they are sanitized. Tires that are unfit for handling are disposed of properly.

– The reuse of tires has a positive impact on the control of urban arboviruses transmitted by Aedes and on environmental health in a broad sense. It also contributes to building an aesthetically welcoming environment in the network’s health units. The idea is that, in the future, other areas of the city will carry out similar work – explained environmental surveillance coordinator, Rafael Pinheiro.

Environmental health surveillance aims to identify measures to prevent and control environmental risk factors for human health. Throughout the project, an improvement in the self-esteem and production of readapted employees was observed, as well as an increase in demand from health unit managers to revitalize the external environments of family clinics and municipal health centers.

Douglas Vieira worked to combat endemic diseases until he suffered a traffic accident in 2016 and had to be removed from field work. He says he is very grateful for the project, which keeps him active and works like occupational therapy, helping with his mental health.

– I have participated in tire reuse since the beginning of the program. This service is of great importance to combat mosquito breeding sites, because the population disposes of tires incorrectly, for example, on the edge of ditches or in vacant lots. We collect these tires and give them new meaning, preventing them from accumulating water and causing mosquito outbreaks to emerge – said Douglas.

The Municipal Health Department constantly carries out awareness actions on the prevention of urban arboviruses (dengue, zika and chikungunya) and permanently monitors possible dengue outbreaks in the city and the incidence of the disease, maintaining an active contingency plan throughout the year. This year, until April 13th, 3,307,269 properties were visited to control Aedes aegypti; and 521,335 containers that could serve as mosquito breeding sites were treated or eliminated.

Complaints about the irregular dumping of garbage and unusable materials, including tires, on vacant land and public areas are received through the Rio City Hall Call Center, by calling 1746. Comlurb also offers the Free Removal Service of Debris from small household works and other useless materials such as furniture, antlers, appliances, tires, etc., via WhatsApp 3460-1746.