Ontario generates more than 12 million used tires annually. To keep those tires out of landfills, tire producers are responsible for ensuring used tires are collected and recycled or reused. The Tires Regulation under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA) designates tires as the first material under Ontario’s individual producer responsibility framework (IPR). Learn more about IPR.
Under the regulation, producers are directly responsible and accountable for meeting mandatory collection and recycling targets for used tires. Producers have the choice of contracting with producer responsibility organizations (PROs) to meet those targets or working directly with tire service providers (collectors, haulers, retreaders and processors) to establish collection and management systems for used tires.
Tire producers, PROs and service providers must register with the Authority and report data on progress towards meeting recycling targets. The Authority enforces compliance with requirements to register, report, and meet collection and recycling targets. The Authority can conduct inspections, issue compliance orders and, if necessary, prosecute businesses that don’t follow the law.
Click the heading below that applies to you to learn more about registering, your requirements as a registrant or how the Tires Regulation impacts you.
A person or business is considered a producer if they:
- are the brand holder of the tire and have residency in Ontario
- import tires from outside of Ontario and sell them in Ontario
- are the vehicle manufacturer and have residency in Ontario
- import new vehicles into Ontario and sell them in Ontario
A person or business is considered a collector if they operate:
- a site where used tires are collected and picked up for recycling or disposal
- an auto salvage or recycling site
A person or business is not a tire collector if they operate a tire collection site and they:
- are a municipality or Crown site
- are a fleet operator
- collect tires and retread or process them at the same site (They would register as a retreader or processor)
- You are a tire hauler if you transport tires in Ontario to a site for processing, reuse, retreading or disposal.
- You are a tire retreader if you replace the tread on worn tires so that they can continue to be used as tires.
- You are a tire processor if you receive and process tires for resource recovery or disposal.
Municipalities do not need to register with the Authority. Find answers to your questions about operating a collection site and getting your tires picked up.
Wind up of the Used Tires Program
Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) operated the Used Tires Program that kept light truck, medium truck, and off-the-road tires out of landfills so that they could be reused and recycled. The program ended on December 31, 2018 and on January 1, 2019, used tires moved to the new individual producer responsibility framework.