Scarborough Shop Owner Caught in Tire Recycling Gridlock

Seid Sayed, owner of Flame Auto Repair on Kingston Road in Scarborough, is facing a city warning after failing to clear more than 1,000 scrap tires from his property. As CBC Toronto first reported, Sayed has been unable to get a producer responsibility organization (PRO)—the entities that contract haulers and recyclers—to pick up the stockpiles, despite calling one PRO three times.

The backlog is tied to January 2025 changes by the Ontario government, which reduced used tire collection targets from 85 per cent to 65 per cent by weight and decreased the required number of collection sites. Peter Tabuns, the provincial NDP critic for the Ministry of the Environment, told CBC Toronto that these changes have left some PROs with no economic incentive or obligation to process the surplus.

Adam Moffatt, executive director of the Ontario Tire Dealers Association, told CBC Toronto that tire dealers across the province lack a viable path to remove tires, warning that there could be three to four million excess tires by the end of the year.

While Paul Di Salvo, the city's director of regulatory compliance and enforcement, noted that the city is aware of the difficulties, he emphasized that stockpiles pose fire and pest risks. The city stated it has issued a warning to Sayed rather than a fine. Meanwhile, Gary Wheeler, a spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, stated the ministry is considering feedback from a recent 30-day consultation on the tire regulations.