Old tires pile up fast. A garage cleanout in Riverside, a fleet swap at a body shop in Anaheim, a long-overdue project in San Bernardino — and suddenly you have four, ten, or thirty tires sitting in the driveway. The catch: California treats waste tires as a regulated material. You can’t just toss them in your curbside bin, and illegal dumping fines start at $1,000 per tire in many SoCal jurisdictions.
This guide breaks down every legal option for tire disposal in Southern California in 2026 — what each route costs, who qualifies for free recycling, and when it makes sense to call a junk removal crew to handle the whole pile.
CalRecycle defines a waste tire as any tire that’s no longer suitable for its original use because of wear, damage, or defect. That includes:
Households generating fewer than 10 tires at a time are usually treated as small-quantity haulers. Anything over that may require a CalRecycle Waste Tire Hauler registration if you transport them yourself — another reason a licensed junk removal company is often the simpler call.
Pricing varies by county and method. Here’s what SoCal residents are paying right now:
A new tire purchase in California also includes a $1.75 state tire fee per tire, which funds CalRecycle’s tire program and pays for those community recycling events.
Cities across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, and San Diego counties host free tire collection events several times a year. Common host cities include LA, Long Beach, Pomona, Ontario, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Fontana, San Bernardino, Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Oceanside. The cap is usually 9 tires per household, off-rim only, with proof of residency required. Search “[your city] tire amnesty event 2026” to find dates.
If you’re replacing tires, the shop installing the new ones must accept the old ones. State law requires registered tire retailers to handle waste tires properly. Stores like Costco, Discount Tire, Walmart Auto Care, America’s Tire, and Big O Tires charge a small disposal fee that’s already baked into most installations. They’ll also take loose tires from non-customers for $4–$8 each at most locations.
Independent shops in places like Pasadena, Garden Grove, and Corona will often take a few extra tires off your hands for $5 each, especially if you’re already a customer. Call ahead — not every shop is on a recycler’s pickup route.
Most SoCal counties accept tires at landfills and transfer stations:
Bring ID and expect a per-tire fee. Most sites cap individual loads at 9 tires without a hauler permit.
For 1–4 tires, drop-off is fine. The math changes once you cross any of these lines:
At that point, full-service junk removal is the cheaper option once you factor in fuel, time, dump fees, and the risk of getting flagged for transporting waste tires without registration.
We service all of Southern California — Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, and surrounding cities — and we handle tires the right way:
Whether it’s four old tires in your Riverside garage or a stack of forty behind a body shop in Anaheim, 911 Junk CA will haul, sort, and recycle them legally — and we’ll quote the job before we lift a single tire. Call (818) 263-9000 or request a free quote online and we’ll schedule a pickup that fits your day.
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