Ontario's tire recycling regulation changes in January 2025 reduced collection sites from over 10,000 to approximately 4,300, leaving recyclers and tire dealers with massive inventory backlogs and suspended or delayed pickups across the province.
- Ontario replaced its 85% minimum collection requirement with a 65% management target in January 2025, significantly reducing required collection sites
- Collection site registrations dropped from over 10,000 to approximately 4,300, leaving thousands of businesses without regular tire pickup service
- Municipal collection sites, including Toronto's Drop-Off Depots, have temporarily stopped accepting tires due to capacity issues
- The province proposed requiring producer responsibility organizations to collect tires from any site with 50+ accumulated tires and manage them within three months
- Over $30 million from the former Ontario Tire Stewardship program may be returned to producers, with industry leaders requesting it be used to address the backlog
Ontario auto recyclers remain among the businesses facing delayed or suspended scrap-tire pickups as industry representatives call for changes to the province's tire recycling rules.
Adam Moffatt, executive director of the Ontario Tire Dealers Association, said automotive recyclers, tire dealers and other automotive businesses continue to report collection problems across the province.
“The situation remains extremely challenging across Ontario,” Moffatt told Canadian Auto Recycler. “Tire dealers, automotive businesses, auto recyclers and other collection sites continue to report delayed, restricted and, in some cases, completely suspended tire pickups, resulting in significant tire backlogs across the province.”
Moffatt said the problem has spread beyond private businesses, with some municipal collection sites restricting or suspending tire acceptance after reaching capacity. Toronto has temporarily stopped accepting tires at its Drop-Off Depots.
Ontario changed its tire recycling requirements at the beginning of 2025, eliminating the previous 85% minimum collection requirement and introducing a management target equal to 65% of a producer's average weight of supply.
Moffatt said the change has contributed to the current collection problems.
“Based on previous RPRA collection-site registration information, Ontario had more than 10,000 registered tire collection sites,” he said. “Following the regulatory changes that took effect in January 2025, the minimum collection-network requirements were significantly reduced, with PRO/producer networks able to meet their regulatory obligations with approximately 4,300 sites.”
He said that has left thousands of businesses that previously received collection service at risk of being removed from producer or producer responsibility organization networks while they continue to generate end-of-life tires.
The Ontario government has proposed further changes that would require producer responsibility organizations to collect tires from any site requesting service once at least 50 tires have accumulated. Tires would also have to be managed within three months of collection.
Moffatt said the 50-tire provision could provide immediate help to recyclers and other businesses that have lost regular service, but said it would not address the underlying problem.
“Ontario would still have a two-tiered system where some collection sites are considered ‘in-network’ while others are ‘out-of-network,’ with no clear or viable process for sites that have been removed to regain regular access to the network,” he said.
“Ultimately, we need a regulated collection system that provides consistent and reliable access for all businesses generating end-of-life tires, not simply a mechanism to deal with tires once they have already accumulated.”
The province consulted on the proposed changes between April 2 and May 2. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks said the proposals are intended to ensure tires are collected and processed in a timely manner. The government has not yet announced when the changes will take effect.
The dispute is also unfolding as more than $30 million left over from the former Ontario Tire Stewardship program is expected to be returned to tire producers.
Moffatt stressed that the money stems from HST matters involving the former program, which ended in December 2018, and is separate from the current tire regulation and collection problems.
The OTDA has nevertheless asked the province to consider using the money to address the backlog instead.
“Our position is that the producers had already recovered the costs associated with the former OTS program through the tire stewardship fees that were ultimately passed along to consumers,” Moffatt said.
“While using this money today would not correct the underlying regulatory problems, $30 million could certainly provide significant relief while those regulatory issues are being addressed.”
For recyclers unable to get tires collected, Moffatt recommends documenting collection problems and reporting them to both the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
He also warned businesses not to allow tire inventories to reach unsafe levels while waiting for collection.
“If tires are accumulating to the point that a site is facing fire-code, municipal, health-and-safety or storage concerns, they should not simply continue allowing an unsafe stockpile to grow,” Moffatt said.
“A regulated collection system cannot require sites to continually receive tires without also providing reliable collection services to remove them.”
The OTDA and RPRA have jointly developed a Collection Site Information Form for businesses to document collection and service problems. Moffatt said affected recyclers should submit the form to both organizations.
