San Antonio Tire Disposal: Free Drop-Off

Item: Used and scrap passenger car tires from a household — whole tires, with or without rims Jurisdiction: San Antonio, Texas — City of San Antonio Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) service area, Bexar County. Drop-off access is gated by the City's Environmental Fee on the CPS Energy bill, not by the address alone; independent Bexar County cities and unincorporated Bexar County are not City rate payers Official sources: City of San Antonio SWMD (Bulky Waste Collection Centers, Curbside Brush & Bulky, Community Collections / Dial-A-Trailer, Free Landfill Day, Brush Collection Center, Household Hazardous Waste, Rates & Fees, Billing & Accounts, Multi-Family Recycling), City drop-off centers handout (PDF), SWMD Services Guide (PDF), SARecycles.org, TCEQ, Bexar County, Discount Tire Last verified: September 2026 · Next review: December 2026

Quick answer

In San Antonio, tires are a bulky item — not trash, not brush and not household hazardous waste. The ordinary carts do not take them, and neither does the brush lane.

The year-round route is free self-haul of car tires to the four Bulky Waste Collection Centers:

• Bitters — 1800 Wurzbach Parkway, 78216
• Frio City Road — 1531 Frio City Road, 78226
• Culebra — 7030 Culebra Road, 78238
• Rigsby Road — 2755 Rigsby Road, 78222

The published rule there is "Car tires (6 or fewer, no rims)". Bring a recent CPS Energy bill showing payment of the City's Environmental Fee plus a picture ID. For environmental-fee payers there is no additional drop-off charge, and no per-tire fee appears in the City's Rates & Fees schedule.

Alternatives carry different numbers: twice-yearly curbside bulky collection (the same six-or-fewer car-tire rule), quarterly Free Landfill Day ("limit 6 passenger car tires per household", tarped load) and Dial-A-Trailer ("Vehicle tires (limit 4)", city limits only).

Three things no official page settles: what happens to a tire still on a rim, whether "6" is per visit, per day or per household, and whether tires larger than passenger-car size are accepted. Call 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000 before anything leaves your property.

Quick facts

Why the City's own pages are the whole story here

The City publishes the tire rule on more than one page, and the wording is consistent: "Car tires (6 or fewer, no rims)" at the Bulky Waste Collection Centers, the same wording for curbside bulky, "Tires (limit 6 passenger car tires per household)" on Free Landfill Day, and "Vehicle tires (limit 4)" on Dial-A-Trailer. The official services guide repeats nearly the same sentences and adds "up to 6 passenger car tires (no commercial tires)". SARecycles.org, the City's public-information site, writes it as "Passenger vehicle tires (six or fewer, no rims)".

What none of those pages does is define the scope of the number, say what happens to a rimmed tire at the gate, or name which tire types beyond "passenger car" qualify. Those three gaps are the reason this guide sends you to 3-1-1 before you load a vehicle, and they are covered one by one in What this guide cannot confirm below.

Eligibility: the CPS Energy bill is the key, not the address

Access runs with the City's Environmental Fee on the CPS Energy bill, not the address alone. The City lists the centers as free and open to customers who pay the environmental fee through their CPS Energy account, and asks you to bring your most recent bill. The fee is billed monthly as $3.00 Environmental Fee – Solid Waste plus $2.00 Environmental Fee – Parks, on top of a solid waste fee of $14.76, $20.26 or $30.75 by cart size.

Three conditions have to line up. The account pays the fee — bill plus picture ID is the ticket in. The load is residential and household — materials from commercial waste haulers are not accepted, and the curbside bulky rule excludes commercial tires. And the load fits: four cubic yards of bulky items per visit, construction debris capped at one cubic yard, no household trash, and nothing standing above the fender wheel of a truck bed. The City's services guide quotes eight cubic yards instead, so let the center's own limit govern at the gate.

The routes that do not take tires

Curbside brush — closed. Car tires appear on the brush unaccepted list at the curb and at the brush drop-off centers (Bitters and Nelson Gardens). A tire mixed into a brush pile can leave the whole pile behind.

Household Hazardous Waste — closed for tires. The HHW accepted list covers auto fluids, batteries, cooking oil, e-waste, fluorescent fixtures and ballasts, cleaners and solvents, lacquer, shellac and furniture polish, oil filters, paint, pesticides, pool chemicals and printer cartridges. Tires are not on it.

Commercial and hauler loads — closed. Shop, fleet and dealer tires need a permitted private hauler or a registered scrap tire transporter.

Alleys, dumpsters and vacant lots — never. Leaving tires beside a community dumpster, in an alley, on a vacant lot or at the curb expecting pickup is illegal dumping. TCEQ directs reported abandoned tires to local city or county authorities, or to TCEQ.

The year-round route: four Bulky Waste Collection Centers

The City's accepted-materials rule is "Car tires (6 or fewer, no rims)", and the same page requires "a recent CPS Energy bill showing payment of the Environmental Fee and picture ID." The Solid Waste Management Services Guide repeats that wording and adds "up to 6 passenger car tires (no commercial tires)."

Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. All four centers are closed Sunday, Monday and City holidays — the most common reason a trip fails. Check the live SWMD page for holiday closures before loading.

Site limits: four cubic yards, one cubic yard of construction debris, no household trash, no commercial-hauler loads, nothing above the truck bed's fender wheel. No published per-tire charge applies to this route.

What people forget: the Culebra center and the Culebra Household Hazardous Waste site share an address but not a materials list. Tires go through the bulky lane; chemicals and e-waste go through HHW.

The twice-yearly curbside bulky collection

Curbside brush and bulky collection runs twice per year for City customers. The bulky list includes "Car tires (6 or fewer, no rims)", while the brush list names car tires as unaccepted — keep tires in the bulky pile, yard waste in the brush pile.

The City notifies residents by door hanger 7 to 10 days before collection. The pile is capped at eight cubic yards, must sit within eight feet of the curb, and has to be out no later than 7 a.m. on the Monday of your scheduled week. Confirm your own address's week. If you miss the rotation, an out-of-cycle (extra) collection costs $50 for one item or up to 4 cubic yards, plus $25 per additional 4 cubic yards.

Free Landfill Day (quarterly, limit 6 per household)

Free Landfill Day accepts "Tires (limit 6 passenger car tires per household)" — the only City tire figure published per household rather than per trip.

You must be a City of San Antonio solid waste fee rate payer; bring a valid picture ID and a copy of your most recent CPS Energy statement showing payment of City Services for the Solid Waste Fee; and cover the load with a tarp under Ordinance #2015-09-10-0760. Sites: Republic Services Landfill, 7000 IH 10 E, 78219, and Waste Management Landfill, 8611 Covel Road, 78252. Both refuse brick, brush, commercial waste, construction materials and waste, dirt, industrial waste, lumber, roofing materials and sheet rock, so a mixed load can be turned away.

No date is published here on purpose. Event dates rotate and a remembered date means a locked gate. Check the live Free Landfill Day page or call 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000.

Dial-A-Trailer (Community Collections) — limit 4, city limits only

Dial-A-Trailer brings disposal assistance to a neighbourhood on a Saturday for residents who cannot haul. It accepts tires at its own, different limit: "Vehicle tires (limit 4)" — four, not six.

Only requests within the San Antonio city limits can be served. Four Disposal Assistance Team reservations are available per Saturday, and organizations are limited to two events per calendar year. Its unaccepted list covers bricks, commercial waste, concrete, construction and remodeling materials, hazardous waste, railroad ties, and soil or sod. The page does not say which documents a resident must show — ask when you reserve.

More than a household set: landfills, transporters and retailers

TCEQ states that a landfill may accept your tires directly but will usually charge a fee, that you must contact the landfill to confirm it accepts tires, and that anyone with many tires may need a registered scrap tire transporter. Under Texas rules, scrap tires may be landfilled only if split, quartered or shredded; the framework sits at 30 TAC Chapter 328, Subchapter F, and local ordinances that are as or more stringent still apply. Generators may store up to 500 used or scrap tires on site without registration.

The City accepts whole passenger tires at its own sites while the state's general landfill rule speaks of shredded tires, and no page states an exception. Do not cut tires up on the strength of the state wording — confirm with 3-1-1 first.

Retailer take-back. Discount Tire states that when you replace tires with them, "all necessary tire fees are included including tire disposal, state and environmental fees," and that a certified collection service recycles its scrap tires. Treat that as a provider claim: no official source mandates take-back, and no standalone per-tire price is published. Ask the shop what it takes without a purchase, and how it handles rims.

Which San Antonio tire route fits your situation?

Route comparison

No single number governs tires in San Antonio: 6 or fewer applies at the bulky centers and in curbside bulky, 6 per household on Free Landfill Day, and 4 on Dial-A-Trailer.

Self-haul to a bulky center is the only year-round free option and takes other accepted bulky items on the same trip, at the cost of a trip, a bill, an ID and a weekday or Saturday-morning window. Curbside bulky costs no hauling but comes twice a year and needs the door hanger; miss it and you pay the out-of-cycle fee or drive it yourself. Free Landfill Day states the clearest limit — per household — but is a one-day quarterly event with a tarped-load requirement and no published date. Dial-A-Trailer solves the no-vehicle problem inside the city limits, at four tires and four Saturday reservations. A landfill or registered transporter is the compliant channel above the household set and for commercial or oversized tires, and the only route where you must obtain the price yourself.

Apartments, renters and the account line

Multi-family buildings are not served curbside. SWMD does not provide curbside garbage, brush or bulky collection to multi-family developments such as apartments or high-rises, so do not wait for a bulky week.

But some renters hold the key. The City notes that residents in some multi-family complexes also pay the environmental fee and that this allows access to the drop-off centers. Check the CPS Energy bill: a bill in your own name showing the fee, presented with a picture ID, is your entry.

If the fee is not on your bill, ask the property manager first. Owners and managers of multi-family properties must secure collection services and tell residents what the building provides, and City Code Chapter 14 requires multi-family complexes to provide recycling resources. Properties with eight or fewer units may request and pay for City curbside collection; larger complexes are not served that way. Expect any building-arranged bulk removal to be a paid arrangement, not a City service.

Never leave tires by a community dumpster or compactor or in an alley — that is illegal dumping, and no City program collects tires from multi-family properties.

No vehicle? Self-haul requires one: ask the shop that installs your new tires to keep the old set, hire a private hauler, or use Dial-A-Trailer inside the city limits for up to four vehicle tires. None has a published per-tire price.

Prep before the tires leave the property

1. Choose the route first. Tires are bulky; the brush lane and HHW are closed to them.
2. Count against that route's number — 6 or fewer at the centers and in curbside bulky, 6 per household on Free Landfill Day, 4 on Dial-A-Trailer.
3. Take the rims off. The rule is "no rims", and no page states what happens to a mounted tire at the gate.
4. Keep the load household — no commercial tires, no commercial-hauler loads.
5. Load below the fender line, inside four cubic yards, with no household trash mixed in.
6. Tarp the load. The City tarp law applies at City disposal and processing centers with a published $5 penalty for non-compliance, and Free Landfill Day explicitly requires a tarp.
7. Bring the documents — a recent CPS Energy bill showing the Environmental Fee plus picture ID for the centers; picture ID, a recent CPS Energy statement and a tarp for Free Landfill Day.
8. Check hours and closures on the live SWMD page.
9. Call 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000 if any tire is on a rim, or is a light-truck, SUV, motorcycle, trailer, lawn-equipment or large truck tire.
10. Keep tires out of the brush and trash streams, and away from HHW.
11. Outside the city, confirm your own city's program or the county channels, and ask the landfill about acceptance and fees before loading.

Safety warnings and mistakes to avoid

• Never dump tires. Alleys, vacant lots, community dumpsters and curbside set-outs are illegal dumping; report abandoned tires to local authorities or TCEQ.
• Tarp and secure the load. Loose items are a hazard to other drivers, and the tarp rule carries a published $5 penalty.
• Lift safely and get help. A passenger tire is heavy and awkward; a tire on a rim adds significant weight.
• Keep household and commercial tires separate. Texas allows up to 500 tires stored on site without registration — at that scale a registered transporter is the compliant route.
• Do not cut, split or shred tires yourself, and do not rely on a shop taking tires without a purchase.
• Do not treat the HHW site as a tire site. Arriving with tires wastes the trip.

What this guide cannot confirm

• Whether the six-tire limit is per visit, per day or per household — and why Dial-A-Trailer says four. The City publishes 6 (bulky centers and curbside bulky), 6 per household (Free Landfill Day) and 4 (Dial-A-Trailer) without defining scope. Ask 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000.
• Whether a tire still on a rim is refused, demounted on site, or must arrive rim-free. Only "no rims" is published.
• Whether light-truck, SUV, motorcycle, trailer, lawn-equipment or large truck tires are accepted. The published wording stops at car / passenger vehicle tires, with commercial tires excluded.
• What a paid route costs. TCEQ says a landfill will usually charge a fee; no landfill, transporter or retailer publishes a per-tire figure. Call the facility for a written quote.
• Whether Bexar County's home collection takes tires. The WM At Your Door program for unincorporated county residents lists paints, cleaners, automotive products, gasoline, antifreeze, pesticides and batteries — tires are not listed. Call 1-800-449-7587 or email ATYOURDOOR@WM.COM and ask.
• Whether the tarp penalty applies to a tire-only load at a bulky center, and the current Free Landfill Day date. Tarp as a safe default; get the date from the live page or 3-1-1.

City program questions: 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000. Hours, closures and events: the live sa.gov SWMD pages. Unincorporated Bexar County: 210-335-6644 / BexarSolidWaste@bexar.org.

Official verification checklist

1. Confirm the address is inside the City SWMD service area and that the CPS Energy bill shows the Environmental Fee ($3.00 Solid Waste + $2.00 Parks per month) — the fee is the access key.
2. Count the tires against the route's own number, and ask 3-1-1 how the 6 is scoped.
3. Ask about rims, and remove them before hauling if you can.
4. Ask whether your tire type is accepted beyond car / passenger vehicle tires.
5. Assemble the documents for your route before you leave.
6. Check the live hours and closure page.
7. Confirm the current Free Landfill Day date and site with the live page or 3-1-1.
8. For Dial-A-Trailer, confirm you are inside the city limits, that a Saturday reservation is open, and what documents the crew expects.
9. If any tire is commercial, oversized, or over the household number, use a permitted landfill or a registered scrap tire transporter and get a written quote.
10. Outside the City service area, confirm your own city's program or the county channels — and do not assume the county home collection takes tires.
11. Do not plan around the brush lane or the HHW drop-off for tires.
12. Report dumped tires rather than hauling them as your own.

Jurisdiction: what this guide covers

This guide covers the City of San Antonio SWMD service area, where drop-off access runs with the Environmental Fee on the CPS Energy bill rather than the address alone.

It does not cover the independent Bexar County cities — Alamo Heights, Balcones Heights, Castle Hills, Converse, Fair Oaks Ranch, Helotes, Hill Country Village, Kirby, Leon Valley, Live Oak, Lytle, Schertz, Selma, Universal City, Windcrest and others — which are separate jurisdictions and not City drop-off customers, nor unincorporated Bexar County, whose residents use a private hauler, a landfill, or the county programs (contracted bulk pickup is limited to 4 cubic yards once per quarter; 210-335-6644 / BexarSolidWaste@bexar.org). The county's free WM At Your Door home collection is for household hazardous waste and does not list tires.

Commercial waste and commercial-hauler loads are excluded throughout, and landlord, property-management and HOA rules sit on top of the City's — they cannot make an alley or dumpster set-out acceptable. Verify with the official source before acting.

FAQ

Will the garbage truck take my tires? No. Tires are a bulky item in San Antonio — not trash and not brush. Car tires are explicitly unaccepted in the brush lane and at the brush drop-off centers.

Where can I drop off tires for free? At the four Bulky Waste Collection Centers — Bitters (1800 Wurzbach Parkway), Frio City Road (1531 Frio City Road), Culebra (7030 Culebra Road) and Rigsby Road (2755 Rigsby Road) — if you pay the City's Environmental Fee on your CPS Energy bill. Bring the recent bill and a picture ID.

How many tires can I bring? The centers publish "Car tires (6 or fewer, no rims)"; curbside bulky uses the same wording; Free Landfill Day publishes 6 passenger car tires per household; Dial-A-Trailer publishes 4 vehicle tires. The scope of the 6 is undefined — confirm with 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000.

Can I leave the rims on? The rule is "no rims". No City page states whether a rimmed tire is refused at the gate or must arrive rim-free, so remove the rims first and call 3-1-1 if you cannot.

Can I take tires to the Household Hazardous Waste site at 7030 Culebra Road? No. Tires are absent from the HHW accepted list. Take chemicals and e-waste there, never tires.

When are the bulky centers open? Tuesday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Closed Sunday, Monday and City holidays.

I rent an apartment. Can I use the centers? Possibly. Some apartment residents pay the Environmental Fee on the CPS Energy bill, and that fee allows access to the drop-off centers. Check your bill; if the fee is absent or the bill is in the landlord's name, ask the property manager. Multi-family buildings do not receive curbside bulky service.

Do I need to tarp the load? Tarping is the safe default: the City tarp law applies at disposal and processing centers with a $5 penalty for non-compliance, and Free Landfill Day requires a tarped load.

What does it cost? No additional fee for environmental-fee payers at the bulky centers, and no per-tire fee appears in the City's fee schedule. Retailer, landfill and transporter charges are provider-specific — ask for a quote.

Is there a tire limit if I hold more than a household set? Yes, a state threshold changes the channel. Texas rules let a generator store up to 500 used or scrap tires on site without registration, and TCEQ says many tires may need a registered scrap tire transporter. Above a household set, use a permitted landfill or a registered transporter rather than a City center.

I live in Helotes, Converse or unincorporated Bexar County. Do these rules apply to me? No. Those areas are not City of San Antonio rate payers. Confirm your own city's program or contact Bexar County at 210-335-6644 / BexarSolidWaste@bexar.org, and do not assume the county home collection takes tires.

Official sources

1. City of San Antonio SWMD — Bulky Waste Collection Centers: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Brush-Bulky/Bulky-Drop-Off
2. City of San Antonio SWMD — Curbside Brush & Bulky Item Collection: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Brush-Bulky/Curbside
3. City of San Antonio SWMD — Community Collections (Dial-A-Trailer): https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Brush-Bulky/Community
4. City of San Antonio SWMD — Free Landfill Day: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Garbage/Landfill
5. City of San Antonio SWMD — Brush Collection Center: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Brush-Bulky/Brush-Drop-Off
6. City of San Antonio SWMD — Household Hazardous Waste: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/HHW
7. City of San Antonio SWMD — Rates & Fees: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Curbside-Service/Rates-Fees
8. City of San Antonio SWMD — Billing & Accounts: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Curbside-Service/Billing-Accounts
9. City of San Antonio SWMD — Multi-Family Recycling: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Business-Commercial/Multi-Family-Recycling
10. City of San Antonio SWMD — Drop-Off Centers handout (PDF): https://www.sanantonio.gov/Portals/0/Files/SWMD/Events/Drop-Off-Centers.pdf
11. City of San Antonio SWMD — Solid Waste Management Services Guide (PDF): https://www.sa.gov/files/assets/main/v/1/swmd/documents/servicesguideen.pdf
12. SARecycles.org — Bulky Item Drop-Off Centers: https://sarecycles.org/services/drop-off-centers/bulky-item-drop-off-centers
13. SARecycles.org — Curbside Bulky Item Collection: https://sarecycles.org/services/brush-bulky-collections/curbside-bulky-item-collection
14. TCEQ — Disposing of Tires from Your Home or Private Property: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/waste_permits/tires/tires-disposal-qa
15. TCEQ — Used and Scrap Tire Management: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/waste_permits/tires
16. Bexar County — Household Hazardous Waste Pickup Program: https://www.bexar.org/533/Household-Hazardous-Waste-Pickup-Program
17. Bexar County — Solid Waste: https://www.bexar.org/3374/Solid-Waste
18. Discount Tire — Scrap Tires and the Environment: https://www.discounttire.com/learn/scrap-tires-environment

Verify before you act. The tire limit's scope is undefined, the rim rule is unpublished and the accepted tire-type list stops at passenger cars, so confirm your own case with SWMD at 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000 before you load a vehicle. This guide covers the City of San Antonio SWMD service area, where access runs on a CPS Energy bill showing the Environmental Fee rather than on city limits; independent Bexar County cities (Alamo Heights, Balcones Heights, Castle Hills, Converse, Fair Oaks Ranch, Helotes, Hill Country Village, Kirby, Leon Valley, Live Oak, Lytle, Schertz, Selma, Universal City, Windcrest and others) and unincorporated Bexar County run their own programs and are not City drop-off customers. Never leave tires in an alley, on a vacant lot, beside a community dumpster or at the curb expecting pickup — that is illegal dumping, and tires are not accepted in the brush lane, at the brush drop-off centers or at Household Hazardous Waste.