How to Dispose of Old Tires in Florence, SC

Why Tires Are Handled Differently

You cannot just bury a tire. Under the South Carolina Solid Waste Policy and Management Act of 1991, whole tires are banned from disposal in SC landfills - they trap methane, float back up through cover soil, and collect water that breeds mosquitoes. Instead, the state funds a tire recycling system and requires every county to run a program that accepts waste tires from its residents (SC DES - Waste Tires, SC Code 44-96-170).

The 2-Dollar Fee, Explained

When you buy a new tire in South Carolina, you pay a 2-dollar-per-tire fee at the point of sale. That fee is not a scam or a store markup - it is a state-mandated charge that funds the proper management and recycling of scrap tires, reduces illegal dumping, and supports county tire programs. It applies to new car, trailer, and motorcycle tires whether or not the seller mounts them. It does not apply to used, recapped, or retread tires, farm-tractor tires, airplane tires, off-highway/heavy-equipment tires, lawn-mower tires, or bicycle and garden-cart tires (SC DES - Tire Dealers). Because you already paid into the system, disposing of ordinary passenger tires as a resident is designed to be low-cost or free through the county.

Where Tires Go in Florence County

1. The Shop That Sells You New Tires

The single easiest option: when you buy replacement tires, the shop takes your old ones. That 2-dollar fee you pay covers their proper recycling. Just leave the old tires with the installer.

2. The County Tire Program

Florence County, like all 46 SC counties, accepts waste tires from residents through its solid-waste program. There may be a reasonable per-tire limit or resident requirement, and rims usually must be removed. Confirm the current drop-off location, any limits, and whether it is free for residents with SC DES - Where Residents Recycle Tires or County Recycling at (843) 413-3013.

3. Junk Removal for Piles and Cleanouts

If you have a stack of tires from a property cleanout, a former business, or years of accumulation in a garage or fence line, hauling them one carload at a time is a chore. We can collect the pile and route the tires into the proper recycling stream in one trip.

What Happens to Recycled Tires

It helps to know the fee you pay actually does something. Scrap tires collected through the program are processed into genuinely useful products rather than just piled up. Common end uses include tire-derived fuel burned in industrial boilers and cement kilns, crumb rubber used in playground surfacing, athletic tracks, and rubberized asphalt, and civil-engineering material used as lightweight fill in road and drainage projects. That is why South Carolina bans whole tires from landfills in the first place - buried, a tire is a hazard that lasts for decades; processed, it becomes a resource. Keeping tires in the recycling stream is the whole point of the 2-dollar fee and the county programs it funds.

It also explains the rim rule. Steel rims contaminate the rubber-processing stream and are recycled separately as scrap metal, which is why drop-off sites usually ask you to dismount tires from their rims (or charge more if you do not). If pulling rims is not something you can do, a tire shop or a junk-removal crew can handle that step for you.

What Not to Do

• Do not dump tires in the woods, a ditch, or a creek - illegal dumping carries penalties, and the county funds enforcement.
• Do not try to sneak whole tires into a regular landfill load - they are banned and will be refused.
• Do not burn tires - it is illegal and releases toxic smoke.

Got a pile of old tires to clear from a Florence or Pee Dee property? Call (854) 204-9863 and we will haul them to proper recycling.

Sources

• SC DES - Waste Tires
• SC DES - Where Can Residents Recycle Tires
• SC DES - Tire Dealers / New Tire Retailers
• SC Code Section 44-96-170 - Waste Tires

Last verified: July 15, 2026. County tire-program limits and locations change - confirm with County Recycling at (843) 413-3013.