ECAR Fact Sheet for West Virginia
Waste Tires

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

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What You Need to Know

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

West Virginia’s waste tire regulations require proper management of waste tires and used tires. This includes permit and record keeping requirements for facilities that that generate, process, reuse or recycle tires.

Permit Requirements. No salvage yard shall accept, store or process more than 100 hundred waste tires unless it has all of the permits necessary to operate a monofill, waste tire processing facility or solid waste facility.  Any salvage yard which currently has on its premises more than one hundred waste tires not on a vehicle must establish a plan in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection for the proper disposal of the waste tires.

In addition to a license issued by the Division of Highways, a salvage yard that has on its premises, at any given time, more than 100 waste tires not mounted on wheels on vehicles or machines must obtain a commercial solid waste facility permit to store the tires, or have entered into an agreement with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the proper disposal of the waste tires.

Transporting Waste Tires. No waste tire transporter or other person shall knowingly transport or knowingly allow waste tires under his or her control to be transported to a site or facility that does not have a valid permit or license to accept waste tires.

Waste Tire Disposal. You may legally dispose of waste tires in waste tire monofills, alternative daily cover, or reuse as select waste. Temporary containment or long-term storage of waste tires is considered “unlawful disposal."

Tire Dealer Requirements. Tire dealers are required to accept DOT-regulated tires if offered by their customers in exchange for tires purchased in a quantity equal to the number of tires purchased at the point of transfer. Tire dealers may temporarily store 500 or less waste tires for up to 90 days.

Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements. If you operate a waste tire monofill/storage cell or a processing facility, you must submit quarterly and annual reports to the DEP regarding your waste tire activities. If you are a tire dealer, you must keep required record onsite and have them available for DEP inspectors.

If you transport waste tires, you must keep records that includes contact information for the retail tire dealers, and the number of whole waste tires transported from the dealer.  You must also keep records that show the contact information for the permitted site or facility to where the whole waste tires were transported. You must keep these records on file and make them available to the state. Keep these records on file for at least three years.

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

West Virginia’s Waste Tire Management Rules

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 you accept, store or process more than 100 hundred waste tires, you may be required to obtain a permit to operate a monofill, waste tire processing facility or solid waste facility. Any salvage yard which currently has on its premises more than one hundred waste tires not on a vehicle must establish a plan in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection for the proper disposal of the waste tires.

1. How many tires are stored? Do not store more than 100 tires at one time, or you will most likely be required to obtain a permit.
2. Are you following scrap tire transport requirements? Do not knowingly transport or knowingly allow waste tires under your control to be transported to a site or facility that does not have a valid permit or license to accept waste tires.

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

Related ECAR Fact Sheets

None.

Other Relevant Resources

None.

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