Georgia scrap tire management

Scrap tires in Georgia are regulated by two units of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD). The Tire Management Unit enforces state regulations for scrap tire generators, tire carriers, scrap tire sorters and illegal tire disposal sites. The Recovered Materials Unit permits scrap tire processors and coordinates the abatement of scrap tire piles through state contracts.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name scrap tire records among its standard record sources. They answer two questions on a property with tires on it or a tire business in its history: was the business permitted, and was a tire pile ever the subject of a complaint or a cleanup.

• Who needed a number or a permit. The Tire Management Unit issues scrap tire generator identification numbers and used tire dealer identification numbers, and tire carrier and tire sorter permits. It reviews applications from retreaders, and it issues agricultural waivers for scrap tire storage for agricultural purposes. The Recovered Materials Unit issues scrap tire processor permits and approvals for beneficial reuse projects.
• What the unit does about a pile. The Tire Management Unit carries out routine and follow-up inspections, reviews quarterly reports and tire fee submittals, and responds to citizen complaints about scrap tires. EPD says its compliance specialists take enforcement action when needed to ensure compliance and to facilitate the removal of illegally disposed tires.
• Who pays for a cleanup. The Solid Waste Trust Fund Grant Program is funded by a fee on the sale of new tires in Georgia, which EPD gives as $1 per new tire. EPD says the money is used to clean up scrap tires and support recycling, through grants, state-led tire abatement contracts and the Local Government Scrap Tire Abatement Reimbursement Program. That program reimburses local governments and solid waste authorities for transporting and recycling scrap tires dumped on rights of way, collected at scrap tire events, or gathered in cleanups a local government sponsors.

A tire pile seen on a site visit is worth a call to the unit: ask whether a complaint, an enforcement action or an abatement is on record for the address.

What the record shows

EPD posts two lists on its Tire Management page.

The pages read do not link a public list of tire dumps, tire complaints or abatement sites. Complaints EPD has finished investigating are searchable through its Complaint Tracking System, described on the Emergency Response and complaint records page.

Where to look a site up

• Both lists are on EPD's Tire Management page.
• To report a suspected tire dump, or for other scrap or used tire complaints, EPD says to contact the compliance specialist for the county. The page it links for them is Tire Management Unit Contacts.
• Applications, tire fee reports and quarterly reports are filed through GEOS, the Georgia EPD Online System.
• The unit's line is 404.362.2537.

Getting the file

The pages read do not say where scrap tire files are kept. The units sit in the Recovered Materials and Abatement Program at EPD's Tradeport office. File reviews there are by appointment, requested by email at the address on EPD's Land Branch Open Records Requests page. Requests under the Georgia Open Records Act go through EPD's Open Records Request Portal.

Sources

Georgia Environmental Protection Division pages, read October 7, 2026:

• Tire Management, last modified August 19, 2026.
• Common Scrap and Used Tire Questions, no modified date in the saved page.
• LPB Program and Units, last modified June 30, 2026.
• eServices, last modified March 30, 2026.
• GEOS Training and Technical Assistance, last modified October 5, 2026.
• Land Branch Open Records Requests, last modified July 29, 2026.