Scrap Tires

Get More Mileage From Your Tire

Scrap Tire Issues

Georgia law promotes the reuse and recycling of scrap tires and has established a tire management fee to promote environmentally sound scrap tire management practices. For the most part, whole tires are banned from landfill disposal and if they cannot be reused, they are processed into tire chips by tire processors and used as a fuel or as a drainage material.

Environmental/Health Concerns
Illegaly dumped scrap tires are not just unsightly — they pose a serious threat to human health and the environment.

• Fires: A Constant Danger
  Tire stockpile fires are very difficult to extinguish and may burn for months, releasing thick, black smoke containing hazardous compounds and toxic gasses into the atmosphere. The oil and ash created by a fire can threaten ground, surface, and drinking water.
• Public Health Threat
  Because tires stored outside retain water and absorb sunlight, they pose a health threat by providing an ideal breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes and rodents.

Recycle Your Scrap Tires

Each of us has a responsibility to make sure the scrap tires we generate are properly managed. Fortunately, when you purchase new tires, most tire retailers will accept your old tires for a fee and have them properly processed for reuse or recycling. This fee will vary depending upon the type of tire and the cost to the tire retailer to have your scrap tires processed.
Do your part. Extend the life of your tires by using proper tire management techniques and when you need new tires, be sure to properly dispose of your old ones.

Prevent the Problem

The most cost-effective way to address scrap tire management is to reduce the amount of tires generated for disposal. You can help extend the life of your tires and reduce your car maintenance costs by practicing the following tire maintenance and driving suggestions:

• Pick the right tire type and size for your vehicle
  When choosing a tire for your vehicle, consider the trade-offs between purchase price and tire lifespan. Bias tires are usually the least expensive tire to purchase, but they also have the shortest lifespan and wear life.
• Maintain proper tire air pressure
  Over or under inflating a tire shortens its life span. By under inflating a tire by 4 pounds per square inch (psi), a tire with a life expectancy of 40,000 miles will lose 4,000 miles of its useful life.
• Balance, rotate, and align your tires
  By properly balancing, rotating, and aligning your tires you can increase the useful life of your tires.
• Avoid sudden starts and stops
  Sudden vehicle starts and stops not only increases fuel consumption, it increases tire wear. Driving in stop and go traffic may wear away a tire tread seven (7) times faster than steady driving.
• Avoid excess speeds
  High speed driving builds up heat in a tire which can rapidly deteriorate rubber. Research has shown that a tire with an estimated life of 80,000 miles driven at 40 mph last only 32,000 miles when driven at speeds of 60 mph.

Working together, we can make a difference.

Report Illegal Dumping

Contact your local law enforcement agency to report any type of illegal dumping, especially scrap tires. With your help, law enforcement officials can effectively prosecute dumping violators and work towards cleaning up our environment.
In Georgia, it is illegal to:

• Litter or dump waste on any public or private property, including highways, streets, alleys, parks, lawns, fields, or forest lands; and
• Litter or dump waste on any public or private waters, including fresh water lakes, steams, canals, rivers and tidal or coastal waters.

Do your part, report illegal dumping activities. Contact your Regional Environmental Protection Division Office as listed below:

Northwest Georgia Regional Office
4244 International Parkway, Suite 114
Atlanta, GA 30354
Phone: 404/362-2671

Coastal District
One Conservation Way
Brunswick, GA 31523
Phone: 912/ 264-7284

Northeast Georgia Regional Office
745 Gaines School Road
Athens, GA 30605
Phone: 706/369-6376

Coastal District – Savannah Office
Abecome Center
6555 Abecome Street
Savannah, GA 31405
Phone: 912/353-3225

Middle Georgia Regional Office
2640 Shurling Drive
Macon, GA 31211
Phone: 912/751-6612

Southwest Georgia Regional Office
2024 Newton Road
Albany, GA 31708
Phone: 912/430-4244

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
Office of Environmental Management
60 Executive Park South, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30329-2231
404-679-4940
http://www.dca.state.ga.us