How To Earn $100.00 A Day Recycling Old Tires

Image Gallery Modest Bob Stevenson sorts 14-inch tires from 15 inchers .

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You really can earn over $100 a day recycling old tires in almost any populated section of North America," says Washington State's Bob Stevenson. "I've been doing it for years in a number of different cities as far east as Lansing, Michigan and as far north as Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. And, contrary to what you probably believe, you don't need a truck to get into this business, the work is not heavy, and there are plenty of old tires lying around just waiting for you to pick them up!"

I've gotten so many good, practical ideas from MOTHER that I now feel it only fair to tell other readers about my own part-time moneymaker. I pick up old tires for free . . . and then sell almost all that I collect for anywhere from $1.00 to $40 each! What's more, I've been doing this since I was in high school, I've worked this little side business in a number of cities around the U.S. and Canada as I've gone to college and been transferred by the Air Force, and I believe that nearly anyone can do as well as or better than I've done with this grassroots enterprise. It's an especially good venture for a back-to-the-land husband and wife team.

THE BUSINESS: WHAT IT IS

Quite simply, my part-time enterprise consists of nothing but collecting castoff, used tires from gas stations and tire dealers and then selling them to retreading shops. That may sound too simple to you . . . but the idea works for me, it works for hundreds of other people all over the U.S. and Canada, and I don't think you'll find it too difficult to make it work for you.

HOW TO GET STARTED

Pull out the telephone book (or books) for your town, nearest city, and/or other metropolitan centers in your area and make a list of the names and addresses printed under "Tire Retreading" in the Yellow Pages. Then call around to find out which recapping shop within easy driving distance will pay you the most for the tires you collect. I average $1.00 to $1.50 for every good passenger tire casing I sell and up to $40 (that's forty dollars!) or more for large truck tire casings.

While you're on the phone, ask each shop you talk to if it has any restrictions on the type or number of tires you bring in. Some retreaders, for instance, won't take steelbelted radials . . . others simply aren't set up to handle some sizes of casings ... and still other recappers have a definitely limited capacity. (Still, there always seems to be at least one shop in every area that will buy all the tires you can collect. I recently asked a spokesman for one of these companies if his firm would be interested in 1,000 tires and he said, "Bring 'em right in!")

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