TL;DR
Tire disposal is charged per tire, with truck and tractor tires costing several times a passenger tire, and rims adding more per unit. Tires are banned from most landfills, which is why the charge is separate from ordinary waste.
The fee is small per tire and large per pile. Four tires from a car swap are pocket change. Thirty tires stacked behind a shop or a rental property become a real project.
Why Do Tires Cost Money to Throw Away?
Whole tires are banned from landfills in most of the country because they trap methane, float back to the surface, and destabilize a fill. They also hold water, which makes them prime mosquito habitat, and they burn for weeks once ignited.
So tires go to processors instead, where they are shredded into crumb rubber, tire-derived fuel, or civil engineering aggregate. That processing costs money, and the recovered material sells for less than the cost to make it.
Most states fund the system with a per-tire fee collected at the point of sale on new tires, at the point of disposal, or both. That is why the line item follows the tire around rather than disappearing into a general waste charge. The downstream path is described in what happens to junk after pickup.
Per Tire Fees by Type
| Tire type | Rough weight | Disposal difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger car tire | 20 to 25 pounds | Standard |
| Light truck or SUV tire | 30 to 50 pounds | Standard |
| Tire still mounted on a rim | Add 15 to 30 pounds | Higher, rim must be separated |
| Commercial truck tire | 100 to 130 pounds | Higher, requires equipment |
| Tractor or off-road tire | 200 to 900 pounds | Specialty handling |
Rims are the detail people miss. A tire on a rim usually costs more than a bare tire because the processor has to demount it, and some facilities refuse mounted tires entirely. If you can get them dismounted at a shop first, do it.
Tire Disposal Pricing
Industry Baseline Range
| Scope | Industry baseline range |
|---|---|
| Tires at Metro Central, first tire | $30 |
| Each additional tire, without rims | $2 |
| Each additional tire, with rims | $4 |
Source: Metro, "Metro Central Transfer Station" published rates.
These are industry baseline ranges for planning only and may not reflect Otesse's price. Otesse pricing is calculated for your specific home and ZIP code, so enter your ZIP in the price box on this page for your instant price.
Current Market Reality
Markets for recovered rubber have been soft, which means processors depend more heavily on gate fees to stay solvent, and those fees have risen. Several regions have also lost processing capacity, pushing haul distances up. On top of that, most facilities cap how many tires a residential customer can bring per visit, commonly four to ten, so a large pile becomes multiple trips or requires a commercial account. Expect per-tire costs to add up quickly beyond a handful of tires.
How tire disposal scenarios compare with one another:
| Scope | Relative cost (lower to higher) |
|---|---|
| Passenger tire, drop off at a facility | Lowest |
| Passenger tire on a rim | Lower |
| Light truck or SUV tire | Lower to middle |
| Commercial truck tire | Middle |
| Tractor or heavy equipment tire | Highest per tire |
| Full-service pickup of a small tire pile | Priced as a small load plus per-tire fees |
Every job is different, so the real number depends on the details above. Enter your ZIP in the price box on this page to see your instant price.
Two Worked Examples
Example one: a seasonal tire swap. Four worn passenger tires, already off the rims, going out with a set of new ones. The tire shop takes them for a per-tire fee that is often bundled into the installation invoice. This is nearly always the cheapest route, and it requires no extra trip.
Example two: a rental property cleanout. Nineteen assorted tires, some on rims, stacked behind a garage and half full of water. Residential drop-off limits make self-haul impractical, and the water adds weight. A full-service pickup handles it in one visit, priced as a small load plus per-tire fees, with the total depending on rim count. The relevant floor is explained in how minimum load charges work.
The Cheapest Legal Options
Buy-back at the point of purchase comes first. Almost every tire retailer will take your old tires when they install new ones, and the fee is regulated in many states.
Municipal collection events come second. Many counties hold annual or quarterly tire amnesty days with free or reduced-cost drop-off, usually capped at a set number per household.
Scrap and retread buyers come third. Tires with usable tread sometimes have resale value to used tire dealers, and commercial casings can be worth something to retreaders.
What is never an option is dumping them. Illegal tire dumping carries some of the steepest fines in solid waste enforcement, and tires are easy to trace back through their DOT codes. How to dispose of old tires covers the legal paths in more detail, and hazardous waste removal costs covers the adjacent materials that often pile up in the same corner of a yard.
FAQ
How much does it cost to dispose of a tire?
Facilities charge per tire, and commercial truck tires cost several times a passenger tire. As one published example, Metro Central Transfer Station charges $30 for the first tire as of September 2026, check current rates. Tires still mounted on rims cost more because the processor has to separate the steel before shredding.
Why can't tires go in the landfill?
Whole tires trap gas and water, resurface over time, destabilize the fill, breed mosquitoes, and pose a serious fire risk. Because of that, most states ban them from landfill disposal and require them to be routed to a permitted processor.
Do tire shops take old tires?
Nearly all of them do when you buy replacements, usually for a per-tire fee that appears on the installation invoice. Some will accept tires without a purchase for a higher fee, though many limit the quantity they will take.
Does removing the rim reduce the fee?
Usually yes. Bare tires are cheaper to process than mounted ones, and some facilities will not accept tires on rims at all. If a shop can dismount them for you inexpensively, that often costs less than the surcharge.
Can I put tires in a dumpster or a junk removal load?
Most roll-off rental agreements prohibit tires, and haulers charge a per-tire fee because the disposal facility charges them. Declare tires when you book so they can be routed to the right facility instead of having a load rejected.
Clearing a Tire Pile
A few tires belong at the shop that sold you the new ones. A pile behind a property is a hauling job, and one that gets more expensive the longer it sits and fills with water. Otesse junk removal can take it from there. Count what you have, note how many are on rims, and get a quote.
