Old tires are one of the most common — and most regulated — waste items in Ohio. You can’t put them in regular trash, you can’t burn them, and you definitely can’t dump them on a vacant lot. Ohio takes tire disposal seriously, and the fines prove it.
⚖️ Ohio Law: Don’t Even Think About Dumping
Under Ohio Revised Code, illegal tire dumping is a serious offense:
- First offense: Up to $500 fine for individuals, $10,000 for businesses
- Repeat offenders: Fines increase and can include jail time
- Property owners: If tires are dumped on your land and you don’t clean them up, you can be cited — even if you didn’t put them there
- Open burning: Burning tires is illegal in Ohio and releases toxic chemicals. The EPA can get involved.
Tire piles are also a public health issue. Standing water collects inside old tires and creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes, including species that carry West Nile virus. Lucas County Mosquito Control regularly targets illegal tire dumps during summer months.
🏭 Hoffman Road Transfer Station
The Lucas County Solid Waste Management District accepts tires at the Hoffman Road Transfer Station (3943 Hoffman Rd, Toledo):
- Passenger tires: $2–$3 per tire (off the rim)
- Truck/commercial tires: $5 per tire (off the rim)
- Tires on rims: Higher fee — remove the rims first if you can
- Quantity limits: Residential customers are typically limited per visit — call ahead for large loads
This is the cheapest DIY option if you have a way to transport the tires. Most people use a pickup truck or small trailer.
🛞 Tire Retailers (Take-Back With Purchase)
When you buy new tires, most retailers will dispose of your old ones for a small fee — usually $3–$5 per tire, sometimes included in the installation price:
- Discount Tire — free tire disposal with purchase
- Tire Rack (installed at local shop) — disposal fee varies by installer
- Walmart Auto Center — $1.50 per tire disposal fee
- Local tire shops — most charge $2–$5 per tire; some will take old tires even without a purchase for a slightly higher fee
If you’re already buying new tires, this is the easiest way to get rid of the old ones. Just ask before they start the job.
📅 Lucas County Tire Collection Events
Lucas County and the City of Toledo periodically host free or low-cost tire collection events, usually in spring and fall. These events are specifically for residential tire disposal:
- Typically accept 10–20 tires per household
- Tires must be off the rim
- Proof of Lucas County residency required
- Events are announced on the Lucas County Solid Waste website and local news
These events fill up fast. If you miss one, the next is usually 4–6 months away — which is a long time to stare at a tire pile in your garage.
♻️ What Happens to Recycled Tires?
Tires don’t decompose in a landfill — not in your lifetime, not in your grandchildren’s lifetime. That’s why recycling matters. Here’s what recycled tires become:
- Crumb rubber: Used in artificial turf, playground surfaces, and running tracks
- Rubber mulch: Landscaping alternative to wood mulch (doesn’t decompose or attract termites)
- Tire-derived fuel (TDF): Shredded tires burned as fuel in cement kilns and power plants (regulated, not the same as open burning)
- Civil engineering: Shredded tires used as lightweight fill in road construction and drainage projects
🚚 Junk Removal for Large Quantities
If you have more than a few tires — a farm with decades of accumulated tires, a shop that’s closing, or a property where someone illegally dumped tires — we can handle the full removal:
- Small load (4–10 tires): Usually handled as part of a regular junk pickup
- Large load (20–100+ tires): Priced by volume and weight; we bring the right truck for the job
- Illegal dump site cleanup: We work with property owners and sometimes municipalities to clear tire dumps from private land
- Farm/rural properties: Old tire piles on farms are common in rural Lucas, Wood, and Fulton counties — we serve the whole area
📱 Get a Quote
Snap a photo of your tire pile and text it to us. We’ll respond with a flat price — usually within 15 minutes. If it’s just a few tires mixed in with other junk, even better — we’ll take it all in one trip.