New Life for Old Tires

Tire Amnesty Days - May 25 & 26 at Sears! Learn more...

Each year, Americans discard about one tire per person. We have about 300 million residents in the U.S., so, as you probably just figured out, we have about 300 million scrap tires each year, too!

Tires contain rubber and steel that can be recycled to make new products. Currently, about 87 percent of scrap tires are recovered for reuse, energy recovery, or recycling.

The list of products made from recycled tires includes 110 items and is growing! One of the hottest uses for recycled tires is athletic fields. Many professional, college, and even high school playing fields are now made from recycled tires. When you’re watching a professional football game next fall and see that black “spray” when someone falls, you’re seeing a very fine rubber product, not much bigger than sand, that used to be tires! These playing fields are more cushioned than grass and other artificial turfs, resulting in fewer injuries.

Even though there are so many uses for old tires, some still end up sitting in illegal tire piles. In these piles, tires collect water, providing an attractive home for disease-carrying mosquitoes and rodents. If tire piles catch fire, the tires burn for a long time, releasing heavy black smoke and leaving an oily film behind on the soil.

Make sure that your old tires get a new life! We accept scrap tires at the Buncombe County Landfill. You can drop off tires Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Residents may recycle 10 tires without rims at no charge. After that, tires may be recycled at $2 per tire. All tires on rims (even the first 10) are $2 per tire.

For more information, call the Landfill at 250-5462.