Discarded Tires in Tijuana: How tens of thousands of used tires wind up in the Tijuana River.

Have you ever wondered what happens to all those tires that get low on tread and replaced? Tens of thousands end up in Mexico, posing an environmental threat.

TIJUANA, Baja California — When the non-profit environmental group WILDCOAST did a cleanup in the Tijuana River Channel, the tremendous tire problem was a major hurdle.

From their aerial footage, thousands of tires could be seen in the channel, which is essentially a dumping ground for trash and sewage. The channel runs right through Tijuana, just south of San Diego, and leads to the ocean through the Tijuana River Watershed.

We met with Anne Middleton, the associate director of WILDCOAST, and asked why there are so many tires in the channel.

"(California Environmental Protection Agency) estimates 3 million tires a year are transported from California to Baja because we don’t want to deal with them,” Middleton said. CLICK TO LEARN MORE