Why You Pay a $2.50 Fee When You Buy Tires in NY

Have you ever wondered why you have to pay $2.50 per tire, when you purchase new tires? You are paying this fee to help clean up stockpiles of tires that were found in 2003 and 2004.

So what does this fee have to do with you? Probably nothing, It had been found that there were too many stockpiles of tires across the state that were catching on fire and hurting the environment.

So when was it decided that this $2.50 Tire Fee was a great idea?

Photo by neonbrand for Unsplash,

The fee was established as a part of the Waste Tire Management and Recycling Fund, which went into effect in 2004 and was supposed to expire in December of 2010, but it has once again been extended, now until December 31, 2022.

The fee is $2.50 per tire, it costs $2.25 to recycle the tire, with the business who is selling you the tire getting to keep $0.25 for administrative fees. Did you know that there was such a need to clean up and recycle old tires in New York State?

Is there a time when you don't have to pay the $2.50 Tire Waste Fee in New York State?

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The only times you will not have to pay the fee (according to NYS) are the following:

Sales to New York State, its agencies, instrumentalities and political subdivisions;

Sales to the United States, its agencies, and instrumentalities;

Sales to limited dividend housing companies exempt under section 93(1) of the

Private Housing Finance Law;

Sales to nonprofit property and casualty insurance companies exempt under section 6707 of the Insurance Law;

Sales of tires for resale; and

Sales of tires for exempt vehicles including:

electric wheel chairs
go-carts
golf carts
go-peds (skateboards and scooters that have a motor and a handle for a standing rider)
mini-bikes
motor-assisted bicycles
vehicles that run only on rails or tracks.