Home / Environment / Ontario's Tire Crisis: Millions Piling Up
Ontario's Tire Crisis: Millions Piling Up
24 Dec
Summary
- Hundreds of thousands of used tires are stockpiled across Ontario.
- Provincial regulations reduced tire producer recycling quotas.
- Recycling businesses face layoffs, shutdowns, and safety concerns.
Used tire stockpiles are ballooning across Ontario, with hundreds of thousands accumulating as some recycling operations cease processing due to relaxed provincial regulations. Industry experts warn of potentially millions of tires stockpiled by next summer, creating significant fire hazards.
Tire producers, responsible for recycling since 2019, now face lower mandated rates of 65% by weight, down from 85%. Despite consumers still paying approximately five dollars per new tire in eco fees, some producer responsibility organizations see no economic incentive to process the surplus, leading to business closures and layoffs.
The provincial regulator insists producers must continue recycling, but current rules allow disposal in landfills or incineration once targets are met. This situation has prompted calls for stricter enforcement and higher recycling rates, with concerns echoing past environmental disasters like the 1990 Hagersville tire fire.
