Manage waste tyres

Management of waste tyres includes:

• transport
• storage
• use and disposal.

There are requirements you need to meet when you conduct each of these activities.

Transport waste tyres

These duties apply to transporting waste tyres off site:

• duty of persons involved in transporting industrial waste
• duties of persons depositing industrial waste
• duties of persons receiving industrial waste
• duty to notify us of transaction in reportable priority waste.

Make sure you understand how to meet your legal duties when transporting or allowing the transport of waste tyres.

You must classify your waste tyres before consigning them for transport. The waste code that applies depends on whether the tyres are whole or in pieces.

The waste codes that apply are:

• T140 (tyres, including tyre pieces greater than 250 mm in size measured in any dimension)
• T141 (tyre pieces less than 250 mm in size measured in any dimension).

Store waste tyres

To meet the general environmental duty, you should store waste tyres in a way that eliminates or reduces the risk of harm so far as reasonably practicable.

Waste tyres are combustible waste. You must store waste tyres in a way that prevents fire. To reduce the risk of fire associated with waste tyres, consider:

• the amount of waste tyres stored
• the circumstances of your particular site.

If you are receiving waste tyres for storage, the duties of persons receiving industrial waste apply to you.

Permissions for storing waste tyres:

• A09a – Waste tyre storage (large) licence – to store more than 40 tonnes or 5,000 equivalent passenger units (EPU) of waste tyres at a site
• A09b – Waste tyre storage (small) registration – to store more than 5 m³ and less than or equal to 40 tonnes or 5,000 EPU of waste tyres at a site
• B04 – Waste tyres in silage production registration – to store more than 5 m³ of waste tyres at a site for the purpose of silage production.

You do not need a permission to store waste tyres if less than 5 m³ (about the capacity of a small skip bin) of waste tyres are stored at your premises at any time.

Storage piles

When storing waste tyres in piles, you should:

• construct long and narrow piles, not large square piles
• minimise the size of the piles to restrict the available fuel in the event of a fire
  
• use maximum pile dimensions of 20 m long x 6 m wide x 3 m high
• have a 10 m mineral earth firebreak around storage piles during the CFA fire danger period(opens in a new window)
• follow our Management and storage of combustible recyclable and waste materials – guideline.

You should develop and implement an inventory and management plan for use or disposal of the waste tyres. This is so they do not build up on site.

Storage for silage production

When you store waste tyres for silage production, you need to:

• get a B04 – Waste tyres in silage production registration if the volume is more than 5 m³
• store tyres and silage on a level site away from surface watercourses and flood zones
• provide all-weather vehicle access to tyre piles and silage pits
• control vegetation or other fuel materials around tyres and and silage
• keep tyres and silage away from potential sources of ignition or heat, like flammable or combustible liquids
• keep tyres and silage away from electric power lines
• maintain sufficient separation distances from buildings and boundaries and between individual tyre piles.

Depending on the volume of tyres you are storing, you may also need to develop an emergency management plan.

If you have large stockpiles of waste tyres, you may need to take extra measures to minimise the risks so far as reasonably practicable. For more information, visit Management and storage of combustible recyclable and waste materials – guideline.

Use or dispose of waste tyres

Under the duty to investigate alternatives to waste disposal, you must consider alternatives to disposal.

Waste tyres can be used in other applications – for example:

• as safety barriers at racing venues
• to weigh down covers on farm silage stacks.

Unacceptable ways to use or dispose of used tyres include:

• erosion control works
• fences
• artificial reefs
• drains constructed from half-tyres
• help with burning other wastes, such as stumps or dead stock
  
• dumping or burying the tires at unlicensed premises.

If you cannot use the waste tyres, they need to be reprocessed at a suitable facility or shredded before they can be disposed to landfill.

Waste tyres disposed to landfill must be in pieces no larger than 250mm in size. Large pieces are banned from landfill under the Environment Protection Regulations 2021(opens in a new window).

Tyre Stewardship Australia(opens in a new window) provides accreditation to waste tyre recyclers and collectors. When using a waste tyre recycler or collector, make sure that they are authorised to receive your waste tyres.