Geting Rid of My (Car's) Spare Tire

June 27, 2008 12:13 PM

Where can I get rid of a old donut-type spare tire? The tire shop won't take it because it has a rim.

I recently replaced my ancient, deflated donut spare tire with a full-sized spare. But the tire shop wouldn't take the donut because of the attached rim. I called the city's solid waste department and they weren't at all helpful - said I've have to pay someone to take the tire off the rim and then take the rubber and rim to two separate recycling centers. I just want to get rid of the crappy deflated donut tire that's been in my trunk for months! Help!

posted by ilyanassa to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

I had the same problem. I came close to leaving it on the doorstep of the city's waste department over the weekend, seriously, and letting them deal with it. In the end I just found a dumpster in an apartment complex nearby and tossed it in there.
posted by crapmatic at 12:16 PM on June 27, 2008

Why don't you just pay someone to take the tire off the rim and then take the rubber and rim to two separate recycling centers?

Just sayin.
posted by Dorri732 at 12:42 PM on June 27, 2008

Call a local dealership that specializes in the kind of car you have and offer it to them for free. Maybe they have a used car they're selling that's short a spare tire.
posted by lockle at 12:58 PM on June 27, 2008

put it out on a street corner with a 'for free' sign next to it. Why not give it away?
posted by yoyoceramic at 1:03 PM on June 27, 2008

I vote for the dumpster
posted by matteo at 1:23 PM on June 27, 2008

Climbing up on soapbox... This is where most city recycling and trash collection completely misses the mark. Just take the damn stuff! Pick it up from the curb in front of my house. Otherwise you have people dumping TVs on the side of the road, stuffing paint cans deep in green trash bags, and crushing fluorescent bulbs. Climbing off now. I suggest trying a auto junkyard although they may prefer to be called auto parts recyclers.
posted by Gungho at 1:35 PM on June 27, 2008

Freecycle? Someone could probably use the thing.
posted by zoinks at 2:03 PM on June 27, 2008

"put it out on a street corner with a 'for free' sign next to it. Why not give it away?"

reading through the numbers recently, i noticed that my small city has a budget of $100,000 for removing the junk that people put out on the curb thinking that someone else will want it. most of the time, the city picks it up - after it gets mangled by weather and vandals - and we all pay for it. don't leave it on the curb. what's more, having the city set up a program to deal with the millions of different non-recyclable combinations of recyclable materials would be impossible. people have to take responsibility for their own junk. having to pay for it is a disincentive, but just because you don't want it anymore doesn't mean you should make it someone else's problem.

this is an instance where you have acquired something that is an environmental hazard and you may have to pay to dispose of it properly. Dorri732 and lockle have your answers.
posted by klanawa at 2:22 PM on June 27, 2008

Thanks for your suggestions. I think I phrased my question poorly. I can't give the donut away because it's flat (drove too fast on it - ooops.). The rubber is not designed to be removed from the rim since it's a donut and not a real tire, which is why the tire shop would not take it. I suppose I could pay someone to somehow pry the rubber off, but it's not trivial and I'm a poor grad student. The junkyards that I've called won't take it. I guess I'd hoped there was some super-secret Donut Disposal Facility that didn't show up on Google...maybe I'll try prying the rubber off myself.
posted by ilyanassa at 4:09 PM on June 27, 2008

If you have single stream recycling where you live, just find a blue dumpster (or appropriate color) and toss it in. They'll sort it to go where they want it needs to go.
posted by whoda at 8:27 PM on June 27, 2008