How to Dispose of Old Tires in the Shoals

Why Tires Are Regulated

Scrap tires are a special category of waste in Alabama. They do not compact, they trap water and breed mosquitoes, they float back to the surface of landfills, and piles of them are a serious fire hazard. To address this, Alabama passed the Scrap Tire Environmental Quality Act, and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) runs a statewide Scrap Tire Program that regulates how tires are stored, hauled and processed. Because of these rules, most landfills will not take loose tires with regular trash - and illegal dumping of tires carries real penalties.

The Alabama Scrap-Tire Fee

When you buy replacement tires in Alabama, you pay a Scrap Tire Environmental Fee of one dollar per tire at the point of sale. That fee - collected on new, used and retread tires whether or not they are mounted - funds ADEM's program to clean up illegal tire piles and support proper recycling. In practice, that fee is the "back end" of tire disposal: the system is set up so tires get handled through registered channels rather than dumped.

Option 1: Leave Them at the Tire Shop

The single easiest option is to let the shop that installs your new tires keep the old ones. Tire dealers are set up as part of the regulated stream - they collect the environmental fee and pass scrap tires to registered receivers for recycling. If you are buying new tires anyway, you usually will not have to think about disposal at all. Many shops will also take a few loose tires off your hands for a small per-tire fee even without a purchase; call ahead to ask.

Option 2: County or Municipal Tire Collection Events

Alabama counties periodically host free or low-cost scrap-tire amnesty and cleanup events, often funded through the state program, where residents can drop off a limited number of tires. Watch for announcements from Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin and Lawrence County offices and local media. These events are a great way to clear out a small pile at no cost, but they are occasional - you have to catch one.

Option 3: Registered Scrap-Tire Receivers

Businesses that accept scrap tires in Alabama must register with ADEM. A registered receiver or tire recycler can take larger quantities, typically for a per-tire charge. This is the route for a big cleanup - an old farm pile, a property you just bought, or a business clear-out. Because tires must move through registered handlers, do not hand them to an unlicensed hauler who promises to "make them disappear."

Option 4: Full-Service Tire Pickup

If you have a stack of tires in a garage, barn or fence line and no truck to move them, we can haul them for you. Our tire disposal service loads and removes car, truck and equipment tires and routes them to proper recycling in line with Alabama's rules. This is especially handy for property cleanouts, estate work and rental turnovers where a pile of old tires is part of a bigger job. Call or text (256) 967-3054.

What Not to Do

• Do not burn tires. Open tire burning is illegal and releases toxic smoke.
• Do not dump them on vacant land or in a creek. Illegal tire dumping is exactly what the state program was created to stop, and it carries fines.
• Do not stockpile them. A growing pile becomes a mosquito and fire hazard, and large accumulations are themselves regulated.

A Note on Reuse

Before recycling, remember that tires with legal tread remaining have value as used tires, and old tires find second lives as garden planters, playground borders and workshop bumpers. But for cracked, bald or rotted tires, recycling through the regulated stream is the right end of the road.

Last verified August 2026. Program details and fees are set by the state and can change; confirm current rules and any local collection events with ADEM and your county.

How Many Tires, and What Types?

The right disposal route often depends on quantity and type. A single set of four passenger tires is easy - the shop installing your new ones will usually take them. A dozen tires from a project car, a stack of tractor and equipment tires from a farm, or truck tires with the rims still on are a bigger ask, and those typically go to a registered scrap-tire receiver or get picked up as part of a cleanout. Oversized agricultural and industrial tires are especially heavy and awkward, which is exactly the kind of load a crew with a truck is built for.

What Old Tires Become

Scrap tires have real second lives once they enter the regulated recycling stream. Shredded tire material becomes crumb rubber for athletic tracks and playground surfacing, tire-derived fuel for industrial use, and aggregate for civil-engineering projects. Some are retreaded and returned to service. This is the whole point of Alabama's per-tire fee and ADEM's program: to make sure old tires become something useful instead of a mosquito-breeding fire hazard in a ditch.

Clearing an Illegal Tire Pile

If you have bought a property or inherited land with an old tire dump on it, that pile is exactly the kind of thing the state program was designed to address. For a large accumulation, it is worth asking your county about scrap-tire cleanup resources, and we can haul manageable quantities as part of a broader property cleanout. Either way, do not burn them and do not add to the pile.

Sources

• ADEM - Scrap Tire Program
• Alabama Department of Revenue - Scrap Tire Environmental Fee
• Lauderdale County - Solid Waste