In most cases, no — nobody is going to pay you for a stack of worn-out tires. Scrap tires cost money to process and dispose of correctly, which is why a crew charges a fee for tire pickup in Northeast Philadelphia instead of buying them from you. Here’s how the pickup actually works, what it costs, and what to have ready before the truck shows up.
No. A junk removal company isn’t a buyer of scrap tires — it’s a hauler. The fee covers the pickup, the labor, and the disposal, not the tires themselves. One caller recently asked our team directly whether we purchase the tires or whether they’d be paying us. The honest answer was the second one. You’re paying for the pickup, not selling us the tires.
That mix-up comes up more than you’d think, which is worth clearing up before you pick up the phone. Junk removal in Northeast Philadelphia exists to take unwanted items off your hands — it isn’t a scrap-buying operation looking to resell tires.
Tires are a regulated waste stream. They’re bulky, they trap air, and they don’t compact the way household trash does, so they aren’t accepted in ordinary landfill cells. Processing them into fuel, crumb rubber, or other reuse takes equipment and labor somebody has to pay for, and that cost travels down the chain from the processor to the hauler to you.
None of that changes because the tires happen to be sitting in your garage instead of a shop’s lot.
There are exceptions. A set of four matching tires with deep, even tread can sometimes sell to a private buyer, especially if they’re still mounted on decent rims. Nearly-new tires pulled off a car during an upgrade fall into that same category.
Worn, cracked, or mismatched tires don’t qualify. If yours have been sitting against the fence for a season or two, plan on pickup rather than a sale. It’s the realistic outcome.
Pickup is priced per tire. As of now, our crew quotes $7 per tire for pickup — confirm the current rate when you call, since pricing gets locked in at booking. Four tires works out to $28. Eight tires runs $56. That’s simple math, no guesswork.
The fee covers exactly what it sounds like: the pickup. A crew arrives at your address, loads the tires onto the truck, hauls them away, and handles disposal. Nothing extra shows up later for loading or driving, it’s built into the number you’re quoted.
Tires rarely show up alone. In the garage and basement cleanouts northeast philadelphia crews handle all the time, a stack of old tires turns up more often than not, tucked behind paint cans or shoved under a workbench. When tires are part of a bigger job, the per-tire price gets folded into truck-load pricing instead.
Loads start at $150 for an eighth of a truck and run up to $650 for a full load, with a free, no-obligation on-site estimate to lock in the exact number. Browse our junk removal pricing for the full breakdown, or check our junk removal services to see what else fits in the same trip. If cost is really what’s on your mind, our guide on junk removal cost philadelphia walks through how load pricing works in more detail.
Bigger piles and larger tires take up more room on the truck, so mention the exact count and type when you call. That way the quote reflects what’s actually there instead of a rough guess.
We don’t have any drop-off area. We only do pickups.
That’s the direct answer we give over the phone, and it catches some people off guard. The crew is mobile, with trucks based in Northeast Philly and dispatched to your address, not a yard you can drive up to and unload at. If you’d rather haul the tires somewhere yourself and skip a pickup fee, you’ll need a dedicated recycling or disposal facility, not a junk removal company.
Four real paths exist for a stack of old tires, and only one of them involves someone else doing the lifting. Here’s how they stack up against each other.
| Option | Typically Costs You | You Haul It? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickup by a junk removal crew | Priced per tire, or folded into a truck-load price for mixed jobs | No — the crew loads and hauls | Multiple tires, tires mixed with other junk, or same-day removal |
| Drop-off at a recycling or disposal facility | Varies by facility; confirm fees directly with the site you choose | Yes — you transport them | A small number of tires and a vehicle to spare |
| Tire shop take-back with a new purchase | Often bundled into the cost of new tires | No — the shop handles it | Anyone already replacing tires at the shop |
| Selling privately | Free if you find a buyer; possibly a small profit | Buyer usually arranges pickup | Nearly-new, matched sets, or tires still on good rims |
Pickup costs more than hauling tires yourself to a facility, and it’s worth it when you don’t own a vehicle built for the job or simply don’t want to make the trip.
The details that set your price are simple, but they need to be ready before you call. Count, rim status, and tire type turn a quote from a guess into an actual number.
Do you know offhand how many tires you actually have? Most people don’t until they walk out and count.
Before You Call for Tire Pickup
In our experience, the calls that book fastest are the ones where the caller already knows these answers. Got one or two tires? Fold them into a regular cleanout instead of scheduling a separate trip. It’s not worth clearing your afternoon for.
Scrap tires aren’t treated like regular household trash in Philadelphia. They’re not meant to go out with your weekly collection or sit at the curb on bulk day the way an old couch might. Pennsylvania regulates scrap tire handling because whole tires create fire and pest risks when they pile up untreated.
If you’re unsure what the city allows at the curb for larger items in general, our breakdown of Philadelphia bulk trash rules covers what’s accepted and what isn’t. Tires fall outside the normal bulk pickup categories in most cases.
Once tires have been sitting in the garage or against the fence for a season or two, pickup is the straightforward route. Northeast Philly Elite Junk Removal is based at 2901 Glenview St in Philadelphia. You can meet owner Mike Sullivan on our about page; he’s been running crews in this business for 20 years.
We cover Northeast Philadelphia neighborhoods including Mayfair, Bustleton, Somerton, Torresdale, Holmesburg, Fox Chase, Rhawnhurst, Frankford, Tacony, and Oxford Circle, plus nearby suburbs like Bensalem, Huntingdon Valley, and Abington.
Have old tires piling up, with or without a bigger cleanout? Call Now — (215) 608-6297 for a straight answer on pickup cost, or get a free quote and send a photo of what needs to go.
Generally, no. Scrap tires cost money to process, so a hauler’s fee covers pickup and disposal rather than a purchase. The rare exception is a private sale of nearly-new, matched tires, not a service call.
Pickup is priced per tire — confirm the current rate when you call, since it’s set at booking. Larger jobs with tires mixed into other junk are priced by truck load instead, starting at $150, with a free on-site estimate.
No. There’s no public drop-off yard — pickup only. The crew comes to your address, loads the tires, and hauls them away from there.
Not with regular trash. Scrap tires fall outside normal household trash and bulk collection in Philadelphia, so they need to go through pickup or an authorized facility instead.
Mention it when you call. Rim status and tire size both affect loading time and the final quote, so describing what you have, or sending a photo, gets you an accurate number up front.
Yes. Tires found during a garage, basement, or estate cleanout northeast philadelphia job get folded into the truck-load price rather than billed separately per tire. Mention them upfront so the quote covers everything in one trip.
Along with Northeast Philly neighborhoods, we also serve nearby Bucks and Montgomery County suburbs. Call to confirm coverage and scheduling for your specific address. For more, see our frequently asked questions page.
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About the Author
Founder & Owner-Operator
Mike Sullivan is the founder and owner-operator of Northeast Philly Elite Junk Removal. Born and raised in the Northeast, Mike brings 20 years of junk-removal and hauling experience to every job. He started his own crew after years on the trucks, and he still runs every quote himself and rides along on cleanouts across Mayfair, Bustleton, Somerton, Torresdale, Holmesburg, Fox Chase, and Rhawnhurst. His approach is simple and no-BS: give you the full price up front, show up in a real arrival window, and haul it all away — donating and recycling whatever can be saved before anything goes to the landfill. When you call, you get Mike, not a national call center.
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