Tire Recycling and Disposal in Calgary: Where Old Tires Go

When it's time for new tires in Calgary, most of your attention goes to the new set — brand, size, price. The old tires? They just sort of vanish after the install. But if you've ever wondered what actually happens to them, or if you've got a stack of old tires sitting in your garage with nowhere obvious to go, this is the post for you.

Alberta has a well-run tire recycling program, and the short version is: your old tires get recycled into useful materials, a levy system covers the cost, and proper disposal here is genuinely easier than most provinces. You probably don't need to do anything extra — the shop handles it.

The short version

• Alberta handles all used passenger, truck, and trailer tires through its provincial tire recycling program
• You won't pay a separate disposal fee when you bring your car in for a swap — the levy is already built into the system
• Old tires end up as rubber crumb, road surfaces, athletic tracks, and fuel for industrial kilns
• Prince Tires recycles your old tires when you get new ones installed here
• Never burn tires or dump them — it's illegal in Alberta and genuinely harmful to people and waterways nearby

How Alberta's Tire Recycling Program Works

Alberta's used tire recycling program operates under provincial legislation and is coordinated through Tire Recycling Alberta (TRA). Every new tire sold in the province carries a small tire levy — the exact amount varies by tire type and size — and that levy funds the collection and processing of used tires across Alberta.

When you buy new tires at a Calgary tire shop, the levy is included in the price. That means there's no extra charge tacked on when your old tires get taken off. The system is already funded before you ever need it.

Tire Recycling Alberta coordinates with collection sites — including licensed tire shops — so used tires get picked up regularly and hauled to processors. Alberta consistently recycles well over 90% of the used tires it generates each year, which puts it among the top recycling provinces in the country.

What Actually Happens to Your Old Tires

Once your old tires leave the shop, they move through a processing chain. Here's where they actually end up:

Rubber crumb. Most tires get shredded down into granules of recycled rubber. This material goes into playground surfaces, running tracks, artificial turf underlayment, and rubber flooring. If your kids have played on a soft-surface playground in Calgary, they've probably landed on recycled tires.

Road construction materials. Rubber crumb gets mixed into asphalt for road resurfacing. It improves durability and flexibility — useful in an Alberta climate that swings from -30°C in January to +30°C by July, and back again with a chinook thrown in between.

Tire-derived fuel. Some old tires, especially those too deteriorated to shred efficiently, go to cement kilns or industrial boilers as fuel. It's not a perfect outcome, but it's far better than landfill.

Wire and fibre recovery. The steel belting and fibre cord in a modern tire both get separated out and reused. Steel goes back into manufacturing supply chains; fibre gets processed into composite materials.

Almost nothing that enters the recycling stream goes to waste. That's the goal, and Alberta's program is close to hitting it consistently.

Where to Recycle Tires in Calgary If You Have Extras

If you're replacing your tires at Prince Tires, your old ones get handled as part of the service — no extra step on your end. We pull them off, they go into the recycling stream.

Where it gets more complicated is if you've got a pile of old tires in your garage, shed, or yard. Maybe you bought a used set off a local classifieds site and the seller dropped off the old ones too. Maybe you've been hanging onto a winter set you no longer need and the storage space has run out.

For extra tires, your main options in Calgary include:

• Licensed tire dealers — Most tire shops, including Prince Tires, accept used tires for recycling. Quantities and any handling fees vary by shop; call ahead if you're bringing more than a handful.
• City of Calgary household hazardous waste events — The City runs periodic collection events where tires are accepted alongside other hard-to-dispose materials. Check calgary.ca for upcoming dates and locations.
• Authorized processors — Tire Recycling Alberta maintains a list of authorized collection sites across the province for larger volumes and commercial quantities.

What you should not do: dump them in an alley, burn them in a fire pit, or leave them in a field. Burning tires releases toxic smoke and particulates. Illegal dumping carries fines under Alberta's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. The system exists; use it.

The Tire Levy: What You've Already Paid For

Alberta's tire levy has been in place for decades. It was specifically designed so disposal costs wouldn't fall on individual consumers at the point of drop-off — instead, the levy gets collected upfront, spread across every new tire sold in the province.

For a typical passenger tire, the levy is a few dollars. Light truck and SUV tires carry a slightly higher levy. The revenue goes directly to fund collection, transportation, and processing across the province.

Some consumers assume they're being charged a separate recycling fee on their invoice on top of what they already paid for the tire. You're not. The levy was collected when the tire was first sold. Most shops don't add an additional charge on top of that for removing your old tires — but it's worth asking if you ever see an unclear line item.

Why Proper Tire Disposal Matters in Calgary

Old tires are genuinely bad for landfills. They trap methane gas and create air pockets that destabilize the ground over time. They hold standing water, which creates mosquito habitat — including for mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus, a real summer concern in Alberta.

Tires that end up in the Bow or Elbow watershed can cause bank erosion and create hazards for communities downstream. Calgary's river corridors run close enough to urban and industrial areas that illegal dumping creates measurable environmental problems, not just abstract ones.

Calgary drivers also cycle through tires faster than the national average. Calgary's spring potholes do real damage — Deerfoot and Crowchild after a freeze-thaw cycle can be rough on sidewalls and rims. Add the seasonal switch between winter and all-season sets, and the average Calgary vehicle goes through more installs per year than most. More wear means more tires recycled — which is exactly why local infrastructure for proper disposal matters here more than in most Canadian cities.

When Replacing Tires Makes Recycling Simple

The easiest approach to tire disposal is to let the shop handle it. When you come in for a tire installation in Calgary, your old tires get recycled as part of the job — no separate step, no extra trip, no storage hassle on your end.

It helps to know how long tires typically last in Calgary so you're not holding onto a worn set longer than you should. The toonie tread depth test is a quick at-home check — slide a toonie into the tread groove. If you can see the outer band clearly, you're past the safe limit. When they're done, getting them swapped and properly recycled in one visit is the cleanest outcome for everyone.

Prince Tires has been family-owned in Calgary since 2021, with a 4.9-star rating from over 560 Google reviews. We offer a Price Match Guarantee and same-day service, and we're open seven days a week. When you buy tires here, the old ones go where they're supposed to go.

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FAQ: Tire Recycling and Disposal in Calgary

Can I just throw old tires in my garbage or recycling bin?

No — tires are not accepted in curbside garbage or recycling in Calgary. They need to go through an authorized collection point, which includes licensed tire shops and City of Calgary household hazardous waste events. Tires put out with the trash typically get flagged, returned to the property, or end up in the wrong waste stream.

How much does it cost to dispose of old tires in Calgary?

If you're getting new tires installed at a shop like Prince Tires, there's typically no separate disposal charge — the provincial levy already covers recycling of your old set. If you're dropping off extra used tires you own independently, some shops charge a modest handling fee per tire, usually a few dollars. Call ahead if you're bringing several at once.

What if I have more than 10 old tires to get rid of?

Most tire shops have reasonable limits on how many drop-off tires they'll accept at once. For larger volumes — a farm clearing out a storage pile, a rental property that accumulated tires over the years — contact Tire Recycling Alberta directly. They can point you to authorized collectors equipped for bulk quantities without the typical per-shop limits.

Can recycled tires be turned back into new tires?

Not directly. The vulcanization process used in tire manufacturing isn't reversible — you can't melt down old rubber and re-extrude it into new tires. Recycled tire rubber goes into other products like playground surfaces, athletic tracks, road materials, and rubber flooring — all genuinely useful applications, just not new tires.

Are there tire recycling drop-off events in Calgary?

The City of Calgary runs Household Hazardous Waste collection events at various points throughout the year, and tires are typically accepted at these. Check calgary.ca for current dates and locations. For year-round reliability without waiting for a seasonal event, your local tire shop is the most straightforward option.

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Ready to swap out a worn set and get the old ones properly recycled? Call Prince Tires at (403) 452-4283 or book your appointment online. We're at 111 42 Ave SW, Calgary AB T2G 0A4, open seven days a week. We handle the install, we handle the recycling — you just drive away on new tires.

Posted by the Prince Tires team. Last updated: August 2026.

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