Alternatives to stockpiling and disposing of scrap tires in landfills include proper maintenance and retreading, reuse in other industries and fuel production. Approximately 850 million to 3 billion scrap tires are disposed in landfills, stockpiled, or illegally dumped around the United States, a number that increases by 250 million tires every year. Forty-eight states legislate and regulate proper and efficient management of scrap tires. Forty-six states have banned disposal of waste tires in landfills.

Proper tire maintenance includes retaining proper tire pressure, as well as correct wheel balance and alignment, conducting rotation schedules and avoiding excessive acceleration and braking. Retreading tires for reuse requires only one-third of the crude oil necessary to make a new tire. Scrap tires can be chopped, ground, or powdered for use in the manufacture of floor mats, adhesives, gaskets, shoe soles, electrical insulators, asphalt and numerous other products. Scrap tires (whole or shredded) are used as fuel in facilities such as cement kilns, pulp and paper mills, electric utilities, waste-to-energy plants and industrial boilers. Other industries that use scrap tires include construction, landscaping, farming, marine, and playground equipment manufacturers.

Except for proper maintenance and retreading, the recycling methods above are conducted off-site by specialized scrap tire recycling facilities. Many of these facilities will accept whole or shredded scrap tires to be recycled in any combination of these methods. Scrap tire generators could recoup some money if they recycle scrap tires directly through these facilities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that a combination of these recycling alternatives will reduce the amount of scrap tires in the landfill by approximately 15 percent.