The City of Richland, Washington, has approved a service agreement with Liberty Tire Recycling to remove what local officials describe as the largest waste tire pile in the state. The stockpile occupies roughly five acres at 2990 Twin Bridges Road and contains about 280,000 cubic feet of loose and baled tires. The city estimates the site may hold as many as 1.471 million tires, while Liberty Tire Recycling puts the figure at around 1.5 million tires weighing approximately 15,600 tons. The project is backed by $3.2 million in state funding and will require the recovered material to be transported to authorized recycling or disposal facilities with full documentation, creating one of Washington’s largest current waste tire remediation projects.

City Council approves Liberty Tire Recycling agreement

Richland City Council approved the service agreement during its September 15 meeting, giving Liberty Tire Recycling authorization to clear the property. The contractor will provide the labor, vehicles, loading equipment, transportation, supervision and other resources required for the cleanup.

The contract sets maximum compensation at $3,112,390. All removal work must be completed by June 30, 2027.

Stockpile may contain 1.5 million tires

The exact quantity of end-of-life tires remains uncertain because the site contains both loose tires and compressed tire bales. Richland estimates that up to 1,471,000 tires may be present, while Liberty Tire Recycling estimates approximately 1.5 million tires with a combined weight of around 15,600 tons.

The estimated volume of about 280,000 cubic feet makes the property a substantial legacy waste tire site and creates a significant logistical challenge for collection, loading, transportation and downstream processing.

Washington allocates $3.2 million for cleanup

Washington lawmakers provided $3.2 million for the project during the 2026 legislative session. Funding includes $1.6 million from the Waste Tire Removal Account and another $1.6 million from the Model Toxics Control Capital Account.

The allocation allows Richland to address the large stockpile through a dedicated remediation project rather than leaving the tires in place, where unmanaged accumulations can create long-term environmental, fire and public health concerns.

Material must go to authorized facilities

Under the agreement, Liberty Tire Recycling must transport the recovered tires to authorized facilities. The company will also be required to provide documentation including weight tickets, manifests, transportation records and recycling or disposal receipts.

This documentation is intended to establish traceability for the material and confirm that the tires removed from the site enter regulated recycling or disposal channels rather than being transferred to another unmanaged stockpile.

Project highlights scale of legacy tire stockpiles

Large accumulations of end-of-life tires can be particularly difficult and expensive to remediate because of the volume of material involved and the need for suitable downstream processing capacity. Projects of this scale depend on coordinated funding, industrial collection infrastructure and access to authorized tire recycling and recovery outlets.

The Richland project demonstrates how state funding, municipal action and private-sector tire recycling capacity can be combined to eliminate a major legacy waste tire site. Once completed, the cleanup will remove approximately 15,600 tons of tire material from the property and place it into documented recycling or disposal pathways.

Cleanup expected to continue through mid-2027

Liberty Tire Recycling has until June 30, 2027, to complete the work. With around 1.5 million tires potentially requiring removal, the project will involve substantial transportation and material handling over the coming months.

The remediation is expected to significantly reduce the environmental liability associated with the property while providing a controlled destination for one of Washington’s largest concentrations of waste tires.

Information source: NBC Right Now.