Guides
Tire Tread Disposal Fees in Canada: Provincial Eco-Fees Explained
Tire Tread Disposal Fees in Canada: provincial eco-fees vary by province and tire type. Shops can use this guide to quote, collect, and remit fees accurately.
What to take away
- Provincial eco-fees are per-tire charges set by a stewardship program and collected at the first sale of a new tire.
- Passenger and light truck fees typically run about $3 to $7 per tire; heavier classes pay more.
- The fee is not shop revenue. It is remitted on the cycle in the retailer agreement, usually monthly or quarterly.
- Quebec handles it differentlyan environmental duty set by regulation, often built into the wholesale price.
- Rates reset with the program year, so the counter price list needs a dated annual update.
Who sets the fee, who collects it, who remits it
Each province runs a tire stewardship program under extended producer responsibility rules. The program publishes the rates. The retailer charges the customer at the point of sale and remits the money.
Who sets the fee
- British ColumbiaTire Stewardship BC. Alberta: Alberta Recycling Management Authority.
- SaskatchewanSaskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation. Manitoba: Tire Stewardship Manitoba.
- OntarioResource Productivity and Recovery Authority, with producer-set fees.
- Quebecenvironmental duty administered through Recyc-Quebec.
- New BrunswickRecycle NB. Nova Scotia: Divert NS.
- Prince Edward IslandIsland Waste Management Corporation. Newfoundland and Labrador: Multi-Materials Stewardship Board.
The revenue pays for collection, transport and processing. Scrap tire management covers shredding, crumb rubber, and civil engineering uses such as playground surfaces and asphalt.
Ontario restructured in 2019, when Ontario Tire Stewardship wound down and producers took on the obligation. Fees there vary by producer, so two shops can charge different amounts for the same tire.
Fee ranges by province and tire class
Fee ranges by province
| Province | Program | Typical range per tire, passenger and light truck | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | Tire Stewardship BC | about $4 to $5 | bicycle tires exempt |
| Alberta | Alberta Recycling Management Authority | about $4 to $5 | separate invoice line |
| Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation | about $4 to $5 | farm exemptions |
| Manitoba | Tire Stewardship Manitoba | about $4 to $5 | charged at retail |
| Ontario | RPRA, producer-run | about $4 to $7 | varies by brand |
| Quebec | environmental duty | about $3 to $5 | often inside wholesale price |
| New Brunswick | Recycle NB | about $4 to $5 | |
| Nova Scotia | Divert NS | about $4 to $6 | |
| Prince Edward Island | Island Waste Management Corporation | about $4 to $5 | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Multi-Materials Stewardship Board | about $4 to $6 |
These are typical ranges, not published rates. Each program publishes its own schedule and revises it for the program year, so confirm the current figure before you print a price list. Most territories do not run a tire-specific program.
Medium truck, agricultural and off-the-road tires pay more because they carry more steel. Tire construction explains part of the processing cost.
Alberta shops can see where the fee sits on a worked invoice in Tire recycling fees in Alberta.
Collecting and remitting: a five-step cycle
Collecting and remitting
- Load the current rate table into the point-of-sale system for each province and tire class you sell.
- Charge the fee on every new tire at first sale, and apply bicycle and qualifying farm exemptions.
- Report units sold and fees collected on the program cycle, usually monthly or quarterly.
- Remit the collected total by the deadline in your retailer agreement.
- Reconcile collected against remitted each period and file the evidence.
Deadlines differ by province, and most programs bill monthly or quarterly.
Volume makes the float visible. A shop selling 40 passenger tires a week at $5.00 per tire collects about $200 that belongs to the program, not the till.
Ontario Weekly Remittance Example
$200 weekly remittance
40 passenger tires sold per week
$5.00 fee per tire
Before credits for returned used tires
Tax treatment of the fee line is a separate question. How GST and HST change tire pricing sets out the treatment province by province.
Example: four tires quoted at $189.00
A shop quotes four tires at $189.00 each with a $5.00 eco-fee per tire. Tires come to $756.00 and fees to $20.00.
Four tires quoted at $189.00
Alberta
- Four tires at $189.00
- $756.00
- Eco-fee at $5.00 per tire
- $20.00
- Tax on $776.00
- $38.80 GST
- Total at payment
- $814.80
Ontario
- Four tires at $189.00
- $756.00
- Eco-fee at $5.00 per tire
- $20.00
- Tax on $776.00
- $100.88 HST
- Total at payment
- $876.88
A quote showing only $756.00 invites an argument at the counter. Fee and tax lines belong in a staff training checklist before the season starts.
What changes the number each program year
Tire class sets the base rate, and heavier tires sit higher on the schedule. Province sets the amount, so the same SKU can carry two different fees. The program year resets rates, often in January. Exemptions reduce or remove the charge on bicycle and some farm tires.
Four Eco-Fee Drivers
- Tire size and type
- Province
- Program year updates
- Exemptions
A stale point-of-sale table is the common error. If a province lowers its passenger fee and the shop keeps the old rate, the shop has over-collected from customers. That difference is owed back to the program. Keep records that support each remittance, since provincial and federal record-keeping rules set what to retain.
