Tire Disposal Options for Indiana Homeowners
Where to get rid of old tires in Indiana: dealer take-back, county drop-offs, amnesty days and pickup. Rules, typical fees and how to choose the right route.
Tire Disposal Options for Indiana Homeowners
You have four realistic ways to get rid of old tires in Indiana: hand them to the dealer who sells you new ones, drop them at a county or solid waste district site for a small per-tire fee, bring them to a free tire amnesty day, or pay someone to haul them away. Which one fits depends on how many tires you have, whether they are on rims, and how much of your Saturday you want to spend on it. Whole tires can’t go in your curbside trash, so “just toss them” is not on the list.
Below we walk through each option, what it usually costs, what to ask before you load the truck, and what to do with the pile that has been sitting behind the garage for six years.
TL;DR
- Indiana bans whole waste tires from landfills, so they can’t go out with household trash. (IDEM)
- Cheapest and easiest: buy new tires and have the retailer keep the old ones, one for one. Expect a small handling charge.
- No new tires coming? Use your county’s solid waste district drop-off (Bartholomew County lists $3 per car tire without a rim) or watch for free amnesty days.
- Big piles, tires on rims, or a full property cleanout: a hauler can load them with everything else, and you skip the trips.
Table of Contents
- Why you can’t put tires in the trash
- Your main tire disposal options
- How many tires, and what condition?
- What recycled tires become
- What to do with tires that have been sitting for years
- A note from us: tires in the middle of a cleanout
- Getting tires hauled away with a cleanout
- Questions to ask before you hand tires to anyone
- Landlords and investors: tires left behind
- FAQ
- Sources
Why you can’t put tires in the trash
Indiana’s waste tire program includes a ban on disposing of whole waste tires. Under that program, whoever generates the tires is responsible for getting them to an approved processing facility, and registered transporters provide that service, according to IDEM’s 2025 annual report. The same report says the state’s Office of Land Quality takes enforcement action on violations and on tire dumps that threaten health and the environment.
There is a practical reason behind the rule. Whole tires trap air and water, tend to float up through a landfill, and breed mosquitoes when left in the open. Stockpiles are also a fire hazard. That is why local landfills turn them away. The Bartholomew County Landfill, for example, lists whole tires among the items banned from landfill disposal and takes them separately for a fee.
For you, the takeaway is simple: tires always need their own route. Don’t hide them in a dumpster, don’t leave them at a vacant lot, and don’t pay a stranger who can’t tell you where they will end up. Illegal dumping can be traced back to the person who generated the waste, and the cleanup is far more expensive than the $3 to $5 you would have paid at a drop-off.
Your main tire disposal options
IDEM’s guidance lists the same core routes we describe here: one-for-one retailer take-back, local tire amnesty days, retreading companies, and waste tire recycling locations from the Indiana Recycling Directory. Here is how they compare in practice.
| Option | Best for | Typical cost | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tire dealer take-back | Anyone buying new tires | Small handling charge on the invoice | Only for as many tires as you buy |
| County or district drop-off | A few tires, no new purchase | Per-tire fee (Bartholomew County: $3 to $5 for most car and light truck tires) | Residents only, set hours, you load and unload |
| Tire amnesty day | Larger or older piles | Often free up to a limit | Few dates per year, limits, can close early |
| Retreading company | Good-condition commercial truck casings | Varies | Only tires that pass inspection |
| Hauling service | Big piles, tires on rims, cleanouts | Quoted by the job | You pay for the convenience |
1. Let the tire dealer take them
This is the easiest path and the one most people should use. Indiana retailers that sell new tires must accept waste tires from customers who buy new ones from them, on a one-for-one basis. Buy four, leave four.
The cost is already built into the system. Consumers pay a $0.25-per-tire new-tire fee, and dealers collect a handling charge for taking the old ones. Handling charges are set by the shop, so ask for the number before the work starts. Most will list it as a line on the estimate.
A few tips:
- Say you want to keep nothing. Some shops will hand back the old tires only if you ask.
- If you have two spares in the garage and are buying four tires, ask whether they will take six. The law requires one for one; anything beyond that is the shop’s call and may cost more.
- Tires already off the car and bought elsewhere are a harder sell. Don’t count on a dealer taking tires from a purchase made somewhere else.
2. Drop them at a county or solid waste district site
Every Indiana county belongs to a solid waste management district, and many run drop-off sites or a landfill that accepts tires separately from trash. If you live in Columbus, the Bartholomew County Landfill at 811 E. CR 450 S. lists these whole-tire fees on its page:
- Car and light truck tires without a rim: $3 each
- Car and light truck tires with a rim: $5 each
- Truck tires (20 inch and up) without a rim: $14 each; with a rim: $26 each
- Farm tractor tires: $50 each
That page also lists weekday and Saturday hours and notes that the facility serves residents and businesses in Bartholomew County. Call ahead at the number listed there, since fees and hours can change.
Two things catch people out. First, a tire on a rim costs more, so if you have the tools and time, taking the tire off the rim saves money, though a tire shop will usually do it for a small fee. Second, you need to be a resident of that district. Household eligibility for tire programs is typically limited to people who live in the county or district running the program, as Hendricks County’s recycling district spells out for its own events.
If you live outside Bartholomew County, the process is the same but the numbers differ. Search your county’s solid waste district name plus “tires,” or use IDEM’s Where to Recycle page to find waste tire recycling locations.
3. Use a tire amnesty day
Some districts and local governments hold collection events where residents bring old tires for free or at a reduced rate. IDEM grants to solid waste districts and other local entities help fund these. They are worth hunting for if you have a big pile.
Expect limits. Hendricks County’s Tox-Away Days, for instance, cap households at 12 passenger car or truck tires and 6 truck or semi-tractor tires per event and list fees by tire category and quantity. Free collections can also end early: a recent community event funded with IDEM grant money could close once the storage trailers were full. Arrive early, bring proof of residency, and check the host’s page for the current schedule, since dates change every year.
4. Retreading, for the right tires
Retreading companies put new tread on tires that pass a thorough inspection, and IDEM notes this can be done without sacrificing safety or handling. It mostly matters for commercial truck tires. A peer-reviewed review of end-of-life tire management describes retreading as a highly sustainable strategy because it extends the life of truck tires using less material and energy. If you run a fleet or have a farm or trucking business, ask your tire supplier whether your casings qualify. For a worn-out car tire with cracked sidewalls, this is not the route.
5. Hire a hauler
If you have a pile of tires, tires still on rims, or tires mixed in with a garage, shed or property cleanout, paying for removal can cost less than your own time. A good hauler should be able to tell you where the tires go. Indiana puts the responsibility on the source of the tires to deliver them to an approved facility through registered transporters, so ask who will take them and where. If the answer is vague, keep looking.
How many tires, and what condition?
Use this quick sorting guide.
- One to four tires, buying new: dealer take-back. Done at the shop.
- One to eight tires, no new purchase: county drop-off. Plan on a short trip and a small fee per tire.
- A dozen or more, or old tires of mixed sizes: amnesty day if one is coming up, or a hauler if it isn’t.
- Tires on rims: pay the higher rim fee at the drop-off, or have a shop dismount them first.
- Commercial truck, farm, or equipment tires: these cost far more to dispose of ($14 to $50 each at the Bartholomew County landfill) and may qualify for retreading. Call your supplier first.
- Tires from a rental, flip or estate property: treat them as part of the cleanout, not as a separate errand.
What recycled tires become
The tires you drop off don’t vanish. IDEM says scrap tires can be ground into crumb rubber for rubberized asphalt, running tracks and floor mats, or shredded into mulch for playgrounds and other safety surfacing. So a proper drop-off keeps a material with real second uses out of ditches and woods.
What to do with tires that have been sitting for years
Most of the calls we get about tires are not about four tires. They are about a stack behind the garage, in a barn, or under a deck that came with the house.
Start with these steps:
- Count them and note the sizes. Car, light truck, and semi tires cost different amounts.
- Check for rims. Rim or no rim changes the fee at every drop-off.
- Empty the water. Standing water in a tire is a mosquito nursery, and tires full of water and debris are heavy. Tip them out before loading.
- Wear gloves and avoid lifting alone. Old tires can hold wasps, spiders and sharp debris, and wet truck tires are heavy. Bend at the knees, or get help.
- Pick a route from the list above. Don’t burn them. Burning tires releases heavy smoke and is a hazard and a violation, so leave that one off the table entirely.
- Keep any receipt. If you pay a drop-off or a hauler, a receipt shows where the tires went.
If the tires belong to a property you are selling, renting or settling, the deadline is usually closing day or move-in. That is when waiting for a county amnesty day stops making sense.
A note from us: tires in the middle of a cleanout
We run cleanouts across Columbus and Central Indiana, and tires turn up more than most people expect: in garages, basements, sheds, rental units after a tenant leaves, and in estate properties where a relative kept every spare. They are rarely the main job, but they are the item that stalls it, because they can’t ride out with the regular load of furniture and boxes.
Our view is that tires should be planned for in the first walkthrough rather than discovered on cleanout day. Send photos and we can tell you what the job looks like and how we would handle them. If you only have a few tires and are buying new ones, we’ll tell you straight: let the dealer take them. That is the cheapest route and no hauler can beat it.
Where we help is when tires are one piece of a bigger clear-out: a landlord turning a unit, an executor with a house to empty, a homeowner who wants the garage back in one visit. We quote from photos, aim for 24 to 48 hour turnaround, and try to route usable items to donation rather than the landfill. We don’t want anyone to pay twice for the same pile or to drive tires around for a weekend.
Our list of what can’t go in a junk removal truck in Indiana covers other items that need their own route, and our post on removing old appliances safely does the same for refrigerators and washers.
— Olga
Getting tires hauled away with a cleanout
If you want the whole pile gone in one visit, our junk removal service is published at $100 to $500 per one-off job, depending on volume and scope. For bigger projects, such as a garage, shed or basement that needs emptying, see property cleanouts or estate cleanouts. Tire pickup isn’t a separate published price. Send photos and tell us how many tires there are, whether they have rims, and what else needs to go, and we’ll quote the whole job.
You can reach us at (812) 302-6833 or through ohanapropertyexperts.com for a free estimate. We serve Columbus, Seymour, North Vernon, Edinburgh, Franklin, Greenwood, Indianapolis, Lafayette and surrounding communities.
Questions to ask before you hand tires to anyone
Whether it is a shop, a district site or a hauler, five questions keep you out of trouble:
- Where do the tires go? You want a real answer: a processor, a recycler or a retreader.
- What is the total price? Ask whether it includes the tires on rims, the labor and any disposal fees.
- Is there a limit? Many programs cap the number of tires per visit or per household.
- Do I need to prove residency? County sites and amnesty days usually ask for it.
- Can I get a receipt? It protects you if the tires are dumped later.
If a price sounds far lower than the county drop-off fee, be careful. Anyone charging less than the cost of legal disposal has to cut a corner somewhere, and the corner is often a roadside ditch.
Landlords and investors: tires left behind
Tenants leave tires behind more than you would think, and so do previous owners of a house you just bought. For rentals, check your lease and Indiana’s rules on charging for removal before you bill anyone; our post on how landlords can charge for trash removal in Indiana covers the risks. Photograph what was left, keep your disposal receipt, and fold tires into one scheduled cleanout rather than making separate trips. It keeps the turnover timeline tight and your paperwork clean.
FAQ
Can I put old tires in my regular trash?
No. Indiana bans whole waste tires from landfill disposal, so haulers and landfills won’t take them with household trash. Take them to a retailer, a county drop-off, an amnesty event or a hauler who delivers them to an approved facility.
How much does it cost to dispose of a tire in Indiana?
It depends on the route. Retail dealers collect a $0.25 new-tire fee plus their own handling charge. At the Bartholomew County Landfill, car and light truck tires are $3 each without a rim and $5 with one, and truck tires cost more. Amnesty days are often free up to a per-household limit.
Will a tire shop take my old tires if I didn’t buy them there?
The law requires one-for-one take-back only for customers who buy new tires from that retailer. Some shops will take extras or outside tires for a fee, but they aren’t required to, so call first and ask the price.
What is the best way to get rid of a large pile of old tires?
For a dozen or more, check whether your county or district has an amnesty day coming, since limits are usually per household and fees are low. If timing matters, or the tires are on rims or mixed in with other junk, a hauler that can name where the tires end up is the faster option.
Can old tires be reused or recycled?
Yes. Scrap tires are ground into crumb rubber for rubberized asphalt, running tracks and mats, or shredded for playground mulch, and good-condition commercial casings can be retreaded.
Sources
- Recycle Indiana: Waste Tire Recycling and Proper Disposal (IDEM)
- IDEM 2025 Annual Report
- Tox-Away Days, Hendricks County Recycling District
- Bartholomew County Landfill, Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District
- KC Recycling to Have Free Tire Disposal Days, InkFreeNews
- End-of-life tire management: a critical review (PMC)