The Waste Tire Collection Program, established in 1998, is part of the Energy and Environment Cabinet’s (EEC) ongoing effort to rid Kentucky’s landscape of waste tires.
During a waste tire collection event, individuals can drop off their unwanted tires at a specific location within their county at no cost. The EEC contracts for the removal and delivery of the recovered tires to “beneficial end use” markets where they are recycled to become products such as tire-derived fuel or crumb rubber. Multiple-county programs are included under each contract to achieve an economy of scale necessary to attract large, well-capitalized contractors.
The program is supported by the Waste Tire Trust Fund, which is funded when tire retailers collect a $2 fee on all new replacement motor vehicle tires sold. Retailers may retain five cents to offset administrative costs, but the balance is required to go in the Waste Tire Trust Fund, which is dedicated to managing scrap tires and developing sustainable markets for recycled tire products.
To date, tire amnesty is responsible for the proper disposal of more than 19 million waste tires. The state has also developed an important end-use market with Owensboro Municipal Utilities to burn waste tires as fuel in its operation.
2023 Fall Waste Tire Collection Events Schedule.pdf