TIRE DISPOSAL
SERVICES

The sheer volume of tires discarded each year is about 300 million tires in the United States alone, which makes safe disposal difficult. Tires that are simply thrown away are a serious environmental problem.

Discarded tires are an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes and other disease-carrying animals because their hollow, rounded shape holds water for a long time. When disposed of in a tire stockpile, used tires are often burned outdoors, which creates an ugly black smoke that contains toxic compounds (due in part to the oil and other products used in manufacturing tires).
Tires are also a problem in landfills: their hollow, rounded shape takes up valuable shape in landfills. Additionally, tires often don’t stay buried. They have the unfortunate habit of trapping gases like methane and then “bubbling up” through landfills, ripping through landfill liners in the process.

Most car owners recycle their old tires at a service station or other facility that accepts old tires when the owner buys new tires. Additionally, some local governments sponsor tire collection programs, accepting old tires with “no questions asked.

The most environmentally aware way to recycle tires is, of course, to keep your tires in good operating condition for as long as possible. Follow smart, green car-maintenance practices like keeping tires properly inflated, rotating your tires, balancing your wheels, and aligning your wheels when necessary.