Waste Tires

ECAR Fact Sheet for Virginia
Waste Tires

Regulations
Self-Audit Checklist
Best Management Practices
Contacts
Related ECAR Fact Sheets
Other Relevant Resources

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The following fact sheet was prepared by the ECAR Center staff. Once prepared, each ECAR Center fact sheet undergoes a review process with the applicable state environmental agency(ies). You can check on the status of the review process here. Please read the disclaimer on the status page. While we have tried to present a summary of the essential information on this topic, you should be aware that other items, such as local regulations, may apply to you.

What You Need to Know

Waste tires have been a major problem in Virginia for decades. Waste tires come from a number of sources such as retail tire dealers, discount stores and auto service shops. Tires that are not sold at retail include vehicle fleet operations, trucking operations and automotive salvage yards. Accordingly, the number dealt with each year in not accurately known, but probably exceeds 7 million.

Scrap tires provide convenient habitats for rodents. They hold water and become excellent breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry diseases. Improperly stored tires present a fire hazard. They trap oxygen that will constantly feed the flames which emit noxious, air polluting smoke. When tires are illegally burned, oils and soot can run off and contaminate both surface and ground water.

This fact sheet will help you manage the tires stored at your facility and how to dispose of them properly.

Regulations

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) classifies waste tires as a “special waste.” Special wastes are solid wastes that are difficult to handle, require special precautions because of hazardous properties, or the nature of the waste creates waste management problems in normal operations.

A waste tire is a tire that has been discarded because it is no longer suitable for its original intended purpose because of wear, damage or defect.

Conditional Exemptions: A salvage yard may be exempt from the solid waste regulations if it meets one of the two following conditional exemptions:

Waste tires generated by and stored at salvage yards licensed by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles are exempt from the solid waste regulations, provided they do not pose a hazard or a nuisance, and that they are managed in accordance with the requirements promulgated by other applicable state agencies.
If you store less than 100 waste tires at the site of generation provided that no waste tires are accepted from offsite and that the storage will not present a hazard or a nuisance.

Permit Requirements. Unless your facility is exempt under one of the two conditional exemptions, your waste tire storage unit or facility, to include sites engaged in speculative accumulation, must obtain a permit in accordance with the solid waste regulations.

Storage Requirements. Unless your facility is exempt under one of the two conditional exemptions, you must comply with the following waste tire storage requirements:

Establish and maintain a contractual agreement for prompt removal of the waste tires from the facility.
Obtain approval for the storage area from the local fire marshal if required.
Include in the required contingency plan a section that describes actions that will be taken in response to a fire or release of product of combustion which would threaten human health or the environment.
Not store waste tires in excess of the quantity specified in the permit.
Place the waste tires in piles that do not exceed five feet in height; do not exceed 5,000 square feet in base surface area; and do not exceed 50 feet in width.
Provide a minimum separation distance of 50 feet between waste tire piles and between waste pile and any structure.
Provide a berm of soil between all waste tire piles in the storage area. The berm shall extend as high as the height of the waste tire pile. In addition to any material in the berm, for each waste tire pile, provide and maintain a stockpile of 20 cubic yards of soil within 200 feet of each pile.
Provide a fence around the entire storage and treatment area to control access to the storage facility.
Not store waste tires in excess of the quantity specified in the permit;
More than 1,000 discarded tires shall not be stored at a solid waste disposal facility unless the permit for the facility expressly allows such storage.
Tires disposed of in a sanitary or construction/demolition/debris landfill shall be split, cut, or shredded before disposal and should be dispersed in the workface with other solid wastes; Alternate burial not incorporating cutting or splitting at a specific facility may be approved if the method will assure that tires will not emerge from the burial facility.

Disposal. Waste tires can be sent to regional waste tire processors or recyclers. These regional programs provide collection points in all areas of the State to assure that waste tires are being beneficially used. The purpose of regional collection and processing programs is to provide all Virginia waste tire generators a nearby, reasonably priced drop off site for waste tires. A link to waste tire processors is provided under “Other Relevant Resources.”

Transporter Requirements. While some waste tire generators haul their waste tires to a recycling or disposal site, many rely on the services of a tire hauler, who culls the tires, or provide hauling services to a disposal or recycling site. The DEQ utilizes a voluntary hauler registration system where haulers receive a hauler registration number and certificate. A link to tire haulers is provided under “Other Relevant Resources.”

Links to the Regulations. Use the following links to view the regulations pertaining to waste tire management.

Virginia’s Waste Tire Management Requirements

Virginia – Conditional Solid Waste Exemptions for Waste Tires and Salvage Yards (20-80-60 D 11 and 20-80-160 A 6)

Virginia’s Solid Waste Management Requirements

Self-Audit Checklist

When an inspector comes to your facility, there are certain things they check to see if you are in compliance with environmental regulations. It makes good sense for you to perform a "self-audit" and catch and correct problems before they result in penalties. Also, there are some compliance incentives associated with self-audits (see Audit Policy Page).

Use the following list to audit your waste tire storage areas and management procedures.

Are you required to have a permit? If your salvage yard is licensed by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, your waste tire do not pose a hazard or a nuisance, and they are managed in accordance with the requirements promulgated by other applicable state agencies, you may be exempt from permit requirements. You may also be exempt from permit requirements if you store less than 100 waste tires at the site of generation provided that no waste tires are accepted from offsite and that the storage will not present a hazard or a nuisance.
Are your storing your waste tires properly? Unless your facility is exempt under one of the two conditional exemptions, you must comply with applicable waste tire storage requirements.

Best Management Practices (BMPs)

Most regulations tell you what you have to do to be in compliance, but they don’t explain how to do it. That’s where "best management practices" come into play. BMPs are proven methods that help you to get into compliance and stay there. The following BMPs are recommended for waste tire storage areas and management procedures.

Store as few waste tires as possible at your facility.
Schedule regular pickup for waste tires.
Keep tires stored indoors, if possible, or keep tire piles covered in order to prevent entrapment of water.
If waste tires cannot be processed in a timely manner, leave waste tires on the rims to avoid problems with mosquitoes until the waste tires can be managed properly.
Do not burn or bury waste tires.

Contacts

For more information on recycling lead-acid batteries, call the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's Recycling Program at 804-698-4029.
To report a spill or leak during business hours, contact the nearest DEQ Regional Office. During nights, holidays and weekends, call the 24-hour number at 1-800-468-8892.
To report an environmental incident or complaint, contact the nearest DEQ Regional Office.

Related ECAR Fact Sheets

None.

Other Relevant Resources

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ECAR Fact Sheet for Virginia Waste Tires

ECAR Fact Sheet for Virginia
Waste Tires