Can you put tires in a dumpster?
Direct answer
No. Whole tires are restricted from landfill disposal in most states because they trap methane and float back to the surface of a capped cell. Nearly every hauler refuses them in a general container, and where they are accepted it is at a per-tire fee. There is a correct destination for it that is not a landfill.
- General status
- No
- Rule type
- Varies by state
- Category
- Automotive
- States verified
- MA
Where the answer is different
- Massachusetts — Whole tires are a banned material. Shredded tires are not covered by the ban. (310 CMR 19.017)
States not listed here are unverified, not permitted. We publish a state verdict only after reading the rule at the state agency, because a wrong answer here gets a load rejected at the transfer station and the cost lands on whoever rented the container.
Where it goes instead
Tire retailers take scrap tires for a small per-tire disposal fee, which is what you already paid on the original purchase.
Sources
- Primary source MassDEP Waste Disposal Bans — Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection · last reviewed 2026-08-17
mass.gov refuses automated requests from this build environment (HTTP 403). The ban list was read from the publisher’s own guide through a search index and cross-checked against the October 2021 amendment document below.