Tires are one of the coolest products to recycle because they can be turned into such a wide variety of products. Your flat tire could end up burned off as fuel, turned into playground equipment or even used to make artificial turf.
Tire Recycling Preparation
- Before disposing of tires, ask an auto shop if your old tires can be retreaded or repaired. Either option prolongs the life of your tires and is cheaper than buying new tires.
- If you are having tires replaced at an auto shop, ask if the shop will recycle the old tires for you. Depending on where you live, the cost of new tires may include a tax that funds the disposal of your old tires, or disposal may be included in the service charge.
- If recycling tires yourself, you’ll need to remove the rim and wheel weights first. Luckily, the rim is made of aluminum and the weights are made of steel — both valuable metals you can recycle as scrap. Warning: You should have experience using power tools if you’re going to cut the tire off the rim yourself. Please exercise caution.
- Before recycling tires, consider a reuse project for them. Besides the obvious option of making a tire swing, they make great planters in your garden or compost bins.
Why Recycle Tires
- We dispose of 280 million tires per year in the U.S. — about 0.85 tires per person.
- Tires in a landfill trap can water that attracts rodents and mosquitoes. They also consume a lot of space, contribute to methane emissions and create a fire risk — and tire fires are difficult to extinguish.
- One of the leading uses for recycled tires is tire-derived fuel (TDF). TDF is an alternative to fossil fuels and produces 25 percent more energy than coal.
Find a drop-off location for tires near you, add your ZIP Code to this Recycling Locator search.
Find recycling guides for other materials
Frequent Tires Recycling Questions
Can I recycle tires in my curbside recycling program?
Under ordinary circumstances, you cannot leave your tires out at the curb. Curbside collection programs won’t pick up tires with your regular recycling. If you want to have your tires picked up, call your municipality and see if you can schedule a special pickup.
Can I make money recycling tires?
No, and in most cases you’ll need to pay to have them recycled. You can make money recycling the aluminum rims at a scrap metal dealer, though.
Most municipalities have banned tires from landfills, meaning you’ll need to bite the bullet and pay for recycling instead of throwing them away.
Do tire retailers offer recycling?
If you are having new tires installed, tire retailers should recycle the old ones for you as part of your purchase. Many states include a recycling fee in the purchase price of a new tire. If you bring in tires but don’t purchase new ones, there’s a chance they will be accepted, but likely for a fee. Call and check first.
What are tire wheel weights?
When tires are installed on your car, the shop uses steel or zinc weights to balance your tires so that your wheels rotate smoothly. If you hit a curb, the weights may get knocked loose, which contributes to your car falling “out of alignment,” which accelerates tire wear.
During tire recycling, these weights must be removed and separately recycled. They used to be made of lead, a heavier and more toxic metal, but steel is easily recycled.
Do I need to remove the rim before recycling?
Yes, most tire recyclers require that tire be removed from the rim. Unfortunately, this isn’t an easy process. If you do find a recycler that accepts tires with rims, be prepared to pay more for recycling — even though the rim is the most valuable part of the tire — because rim removal is so challenging.
How are tires recycled?
After the rims and weights are removed to be recycled separately, the tires are typically shredded or ground using a tire shredder. These shredders use powerful knives to rip and tear the tire into small pieces. Some by-products of the tire, which can include as many as 200 materials, such as fiber and steel, can be separated and sold as a feedstock — a raw material — for other industries.
The rest of the shredded tire can be used for various purposes. If it is destined for TDF, the material is sent to an incinerator, boiler or cement kiln that use an energy intensive process called pyrolosis, depending on the facility. The resulting material is used as a type of fuel. Other uses for shredded and ground tires include rubberized asphalt, playground mulch, road embankments, or even as material for new tires.
If used tires are turned into fuel, why are tire fires so bad?
Tires used for TDF are converted to energy through pyrolysis, which involves heating the material to high temperatures. After the Supreme Court ruled the Environmental Protection Agency had limited power to regular industry under the Clean Air Act in 2023, the EPA considered withdrawing its oversight of small pyrolysis systems, but continued to enforce requirements for these incinerators and boilers as it examined new regulations.
When a stack of tires catches fire, it’s an uncontrolled process. These fires are extremely difficult to extinguish, produce much smoke and release toxic chemicals into the air. Tire fires are a significant concern if used tires are not recycled.
Do any states require tire recycling?
As of 2024, 42 states have banned whole tires from landfills, including California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Luckily, these laws mean it’s much easier to find tire recycling options in these states.
However, 35 states allow shredded tires to be sent to landfills, and
Additional Reading
- Recycling Mystery: Tires: More background about tire recycling in the U.S.
- Take These 8 Creative Ways to Repurpose Tires Out for a Spin: Check out some creative alternatives to tire disposal.
- Used Tires Get New Life with Quest Recycling: Find out how the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, partnered to recycle its tires.
Editor’s Note: This article, originally published on June 5, 2016, was most recently updated in March 2024.