Dumped tyres costing councils $6.5 million a year

The removal and management of illegally dumped tyres in Australia is costing local governments more than $6.5 million a year, according to new research supported by ALGA.

These findings were outlined in the Stockpiling and illegal dumping of tyres report prepared for Tyre Stewardship Australia, and produced with assistance from ALGA members.

The report, released in April this year, also found local governments cleaned up an estimated 300,000 end-of-life tyres in 2022-23. with an average cost of $22 per tyre.  These costs can be up to $31 per tyre in regional areas.

The study showed these costs were almost triple the average cost of disposing of a passenger car tyre, collected through retailers, which is about $7.60.

Councils on the urban fringes are dealing with the most illegally dumped tyres, which is adding to their financial pressure to build community infrastructure and services.

ALGA supports a national mandatory product stewardship scheme as the current voluntary scheme is not functioning properly around Australia.

Read more information about the Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme.