Why Tires Are Tricky to Recycle
Tires are made of rubber (both natural and synthetic), steel belts, and nylon or polyester fiber — a complex mixture that's difficult to separate. They're also extremely resilient: a tire buried in a landfill will last for decades. That resilience is what makes them valuable for other applications once processed.
Where Scrap Tires End Up
Tire-derived fuel (TDF): 40% of scrap tires are burned as fuel in cement kilns, paper mills, and power plants. While combustion isn't ideal, TDF burns more cleanly than coal and displaces virgin fossil fuels.
Rubber crumb (ground rubber): Used in playground surfaces, artificial turf, running tracks, and rubberized asphalt. A playground surface might contain tires from 1,000 cars.
Devulcanization and retreading: Some tires are retreaded — new rubber is applied to the worn carcass, giving the tire new life at lower cost than replacement.
Pyrolysis: Emerging technology that breaks rubber down into fuel oil, carbon black, and steel through heat in the absence of oxygen.
How to Dispose of Old Tires
Tire retailers: When you buy new tires, the shop is typically required to take your old tires (sometimes for a small fee). This is the most common disposal route.
Municipal collection events: Many cities and counties hold annual or semi-annual tire collection events, often free for residents.
Scrap tire dealers: Accept tires in bulk, often for a small per-tire fee.
Household hazardous waste facilities: Many accept small quantities of tires.
What You Can't Do
Dumping tires illegally is a serious offense in every state, with fines ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. Burning tires is also illegal in most jurisdictions — they release toxic gases including hydrogen cyanide, sulfur dioxide, and heavy metal particulates.