Pinellas Increases Tire Disposal Fee 35 Percent

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Starting on Sunday, Oct. 1, tire disposal fees at Pinellas County Solid Waste will increase by almost 35 percent.

The tire disposal fee at the Pinellas County Solid Waste Scalehouse, 3095 114thAve. N. in St. Petersburg, will increase to $50.50 per ton. The current tire disposal fee, which has been in place since 1988, is $37.50 per ton.

The fee applies to the disposal of five or more tires and mixed waste loads (such as tires mixed with garbage).

The fee increase, which starts at the beginning of the county’s 2018 fiscal year, will fund the tire shredding operation at Pinellas County Solid Waste. The county said the tire shredding operation will generate “positive operational impacts” and increase the lifespan of the landfill.

According to the Solid Waste department, shredded tires burn more efficiently in the Waste-to-Energy facility than whole tires and also reduces the space tires take up if placed in the landfill.

Pinellas County said the new fee of $50.50 per ton is competitive with tire disposal fees of surrounding counties. Hillsborough County’s fee for tire disposal is $110 per ton, Pasco County’s fee is $200 per ton prorated and Manatee County’s fee is $86 per ton with a minimum fee of $43.

The Pinellas County flat disposal fees will remain the same for disposing four tires or less:

• $2 per load for passenger vehicles
• $10 per load for pickup trucks and vans

The county will also host a free residential tire disposal event on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at several locations around Pinellas County. Participants must be Pinellas County residents with valid ID.

Drop-off locations are:

• Tarpon Springs Yard Waste Facility, 898 S. Levis Ave., Tarpon Springs
• John Chesnut Sr. Park, 2200 East Lake Road S., Palm Harbor
• Eagle Lake Park, 1800 Keene Road, Largo
• Walsingham Park, 12615 102nd Ave. N, Largo
• Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, 1101 Country Club Way S., St. Petersburg

Business drop-offs are prohibited during the free tire disposal event. There is a limit to 12 tires per customer and tires must be 36 inches in diameter or less with our without rims.

For more information on the tire disposal fee increase, call Pinellas County Solid Waste at (727) 464-7500. For more information on the free tire disposal event, call (727) 464-7503 or visit www.pinellascounty.org/mosquito.

Image via Alexander G, Flickr, used under Creative Commons