Dozens of people bundled up in rain jackets to collect electronics, hundreds of paint cans and thousands of tires on Saturday for Keep Suffolk Beautiful’s Recycling Drive and Tire Amnesty Day.

Despite the cold rain and wind on Saturday, more than 500 citizens drove up to the Lowe’s parking lot on North Main Street to recycle properly while spring cleaning, according to Litter Control Coordinator Wayne Jones.

“People came out despite a really rainy and miserable day,” Jones said.

Keep Suffolk Beautiful partnered with Goodwill, the Lions Club and the Southeastern Public Service Authority for the collection event, along with others.

Volunteers collected roughly 2,000 tires in the parking lot by the end of the day. These tires will be processed by SPSA and used as supplemental daily landfill cover or as tire-derived fuel, according to spsa.com.

“It’s a little rough today moving the tires, but it’s been steady,” Izaak Walton League of America member Jimmy Fanny said with tires in hand.

Many areas of Suffolk have become illegal dumping grounds for used tires, which created eyesores in the rivers and contributed to the proliferation of mosquitoes.

“This cuts down on a lot of mosquito habitats,” Suffolk Mosquito Control crew leader Ann Herring said at the recycling drive. “They love to breed in tires.”

Twenty women of the Zeta Epsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. collected dry and canned food for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia with the help of three local high school students participating in the sorority’s ASCEND youth enrichment program. They also collected baby food and wipes.

“People have been extremely generous,” said event chair Jennifer Ledbetter-Phillips.

Hundreds of pounds of dead batteries were collected, along with other household hazardous waste such as indoor pesticides and cleaning products.

Bert Young said it was his daughter who read about the recycling drive in the paper and reminded him to bring their empty paint cans.

“It’s convenient, and it reminds you to recycle the proper way,” Young said.

Tom Davis and his wife, Dale, dropped off computers, wires, a radio and a flat screen TV. They also brought documents to be shredded.

“It’s nice to get rid of it out here without having to take it to the landfill,” Tom Davis said.

Lions Club members collected old eyeglasses and hearing aids that will be sterilized, repaired and distributed to those that need them.

“We’ve got about 250 pairs of glasses today,” member Clayton Senecal said.

“We actually recycled about 141,000 glasses in the Hampton Roads area alone last year,” member Jim Kidder added.

Wearing rain jackets with more layers for warmth, the volunteers moved numerous bags by the cartload. Even City Councilman Roger Fawcett brought a tub of stuff for disposal.

“This is such a worthy event, and they got some good help this time,” Fawcett said.