Waste Tire Management Waste Tire Management Waste tires in Oregon can present environmental, health and safety hazards if not managed properly. In the last estimate of the number of waste tires in Oregon in 1989 it was estimated at that time two million waste tires were created per year and nearly half these tires were discarded and unclaimed. As Oregon's population has grown, so has the number of waste tires generated. Many communities in this state have illegal waste tire piles. These piles can accumulate rainwater which can become a breeding ground for disease carrying mosquitoes.
Large piles can catch fire causing air and water pollution.
And tire piles are just plain unsightly. Oregon's waste tire program is designed to prevent problematic storage and disposal of tires by regulating how they are collected and stored. It is also designed to encourage alternatives to disposal. Oregon law establishes a permitting system for Waste Tire Carriers and Storage Sites and also imposes a landfill ban on disposal of whole tires. DEQ Online is the official web site for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.