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Scrap Tire Facts
Scrap Tire Facts In Texas
The Problem
Scrap tires are a major problem in Texas. With literally millions of them illegally dumped all over the State, they bring many more issues than just being unsightly.
Snakes, rodents, scorpions, mosquitos, Black Widows, Brown Recluses and other pests love scrap tire piles as great places to live, breed, and hunt.
Many scrap tires have sharp wires protruding from them that can injure pets and children.
Scrap Tires are a major fire risk. Once a tire pile starts burning they are all but impossible to extinguish, releasing thick black smoke into the air for as long as the pile burns.
The Cause
Why are there so many scrap tires dumped?
The answer is the same as it is with most things, money. Tires are expensive to purchase and when the life span of a tire is over they are difficult to dispose of in an environmentally sound way. Landfill sites usually won’t take whole tires requiring them to be cut into pieces, a difficult and time consuming process.
All of this leads to scrap tire collectors that are willing to work outside the law.
So what happens?
Unethical tire collectors pick scrap tires up from tire stores and garages for a very low price.Then sort through the tires looking for that small percentage that can be sold and reused on cars as used tires.
Some are not considered road worthy in the United States but are shipped to Mexico, South America and Africa.
The tires these collectors can not resell are often simply dumped in caliche pits, back roads, abandoned mines or on private property. Of course this often leads to clean ups at the expense of tax payers and private property owners. Many of these tires are simply stored in unlicensed locations where they become eyesores and breeding grounds for pests.
Of course many tire dealers play a role in the problem as well. Again the problem is money. Tire shops charge you a fee for tire disposal to cover the cost of getting rid of the old worn out tires. But many of them simply allow the cheapest hauler to take the scrap. Tire sellers in the State of Texas have a legal responsibility to ensure your old tires are properly disposed of and they can face many thousands of dollars in fines if they are caught contributing to illegal dumping. Your tire reseller is legally required to account for every scrap tire and where it went.
The Solution
What can you do?
When you are buying new tires ask the store where your old tires go. Don’t simply accept the common line of “we put them out back and some guy picks them up once a week”. That is not an acceptable answer. Your tire seller by Texas law must either haul the scrap to a licensed facility themselves or hire a State permited hauler to do it for them. That licensed hauler must have a transporters permit from the Texas Commision on Enviromental Quality (TCEQ). By the way, Tired Tyres permit number is 130202. So ask for the name of the licensed hauler. All haulers licensed in Texas can be researched on a public web site maintained by TCEQ.
What can a tire seller do?
If you are a tire retailer in the State of Texas be sure you are using a reputable company. At a minimum by law a reputable scrap tire hauler will have a TCEQ permit number, they will have signage on their vehicles with their company name and also with the TCEQ number on the signage. Also, a legitimate scrap tire hauler will leave you with a State required Manifest as seen to the left. Again, as a tire retailer you can use the same TCEQ Search Page to confirm the permit number of the company you want to use.