In the UK over 55 million tyres are disposed of each year, but can you put tyres in a skip? Tyres must be disposed of responsibly via a licensed waste carrier or designated tyre recycling service. You cannot put tyres in a skip, and you should not try to dispose of tyres by dumping them illegally.
It is important to dispose of tyres carefully and via a licensed waste carrier, as they can be dangerous if stored incorrectly. Fires involving old tyres produce toxic smoke that is polluting and extremely harmful when inhaled, so tyres must be stored and disposed of responsibly.
How To Dispose Of Tyres
The best way to dispose of tyres is to recycle them. Many local councils offer a tyre recycling service, you can contact your local Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) to check if they accept tyres. Sometimes you will need to pay a small charge per tyre, or there may be a restriction on the number of tyres you can dispose of without being charged.
Some garages and tyre fitters have the facilities to dispose of tyres when they fit your car with new ones. They might charge a small fee for this convenient service, to cover the costs of proper storage, transport, and disposal of the old tyres.
What Happens To Recycled Tyres?
Recycled tyres can be processed and shredded to create a crumb-like material that has uses ranging from sports pitches and playground surfaces to carpet underlay and rubberised asphalt for roads. Rubber crumbs can also be processed to make hard-wearing swings and equipment for outdoor play areas.
Reusing Tyres
There are also plenty of ways to reuse and recycle tyres, which might help you avoid the need to dispose of them. Check local noticeboards and social media for adverts, as people might be looking for old tyres for DIY projects.
Some exercise classes use old tyres in their workout programmes, larger industrial tyres are particularly in demand for this purpose. Athletes use the tyres for weight training by lifting and flipping them over, or as a surface to hit with a sledgehammer in military-style workouts. Smaller tyres are used as part of assault courses, and they can even be used at zoos for animals to play with!
As well as energetic sporting purposes, tyres can be reused in gardens as seating, retaining walls or even flower beds. Whether you fill the tyre with soil and plant some greenery, or paint it and fill it with concrete to create a striking feature or piece of furniture – tyres can be transformed quite easily with a bit of creativity.
Fly-tipping Tyres
Disposing of tyres or any other waste illegally is called fly-tipping, and usually involves dumping tyres in areas that are not designated for waste collection, or putting tyres in a skip without permission. You cannot put tyres in a skip and may be liable for penalty fines if any restricted items are found in your skip.
Although you cannot put tyres in a skip, there are plenty of other ways to reuse, recycle or dispose of them so you can use your skip responsibly.
