Communities fed up as tyre dumping makes national headlines

The national conversation on illegal tyre dumping continued over the weekend, with Herald Sun coverage drawing fresh attention to the scale of the issue and the impact it is having on communities, councils and legitimate tyre businesses.

The article reports that criminal operators are illegally dumping tyres across roadsides, paddocks, national parks and abandoned properties, leaving ratepayers to shoulder multimillion‑dollar clean‑up costs. According to the coverage, an estimated hundreds of thousands of tyres are illegally discarded each year, with reports increasing across every state and territory.

Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) Chief Executive Officer Lina Goodman told the Herald Sun that illegal tyre dumping is affecting communities nationwide, with councils facing significant and ongoing costs to remove dumped tyres.

“Illegal tyre dumping is really plaguing the whole country,” Ms Goodman said.

“Councils across the country are complaining that some of their biggest costs are cleaning up illegal tyre dumps.”

The article also highlights the lived experience of communities dealing with dumped tyres. In Melbourne’s north‑west, Glenroy resident Stephanie Garnier described tyres being left for months before collection, raising fears about safety and fire risk in the neighbourhood.

“You just get worried seeing that there for so long… it’s a real safety concern for the neighbourhood,” she said.

Industry voices featured in the coverage echoed these concerns, with legitimate operators pointing to the “unlevel playing field” created when rogue collectors charge for tyre removal but avoid proper recycling. Law‑abiding businesses are undercut, while illegally dumped tyres remain a burden for councils and communities.

The Herald Sun article reinforces a message regularly raised by TSA and industry stakeholders: illegal tyre dumping is not isolated or incidental. It is widespread, persistent and deeply disruptive — impacting community safety, council resources and responsible operators alike.

Source: “Tyre rogues dump on us all”, Remy Varga, Herald Sun, 18 April 2026.