Connecticut lawmakers are taking on a dirty problem – illegally dumped tires.

A new bill would require all tire shops to join a statewide recycling program. But on Friday, tire retailers told lawmakers that they aren’t the problem – and they warned that the requirement could cost customers more.

Illegal dumping is a costly problem in Connecticut. In 2023, the town of Trumbull had to spend $50,000 removing hundreds of tires left in Old Mine Park. Police arrested two men.

That same year, someone dumped more than 100 tires in a Bridgeport neighborhood.

“Look at this; look what somebody did,” Bridgeport resident Steve Nelson said in Feb. 2023. “This is so disrespectful for somebody to think it’s okay to come dump a bunch of tires on our property.”

State lawmakers want to clean up the problem, but they’re divided about how to do it.

A new bill would require all tire stores to join a statewide tire stewardship program. Currently, only manufacturers, like Goodyear and Pirelli, are required to participate.

“The system doesn’t work,” Jennifer Heaton-Jones with the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority told lawmakers. “That’s why we’re here today.”

Retailers are divided about the idea. Currie's Tires in Norwalk thinks letting tire makers handle recycling will save money.

“We’re waiting to see guidance, or get guidance, from manufacturers and the suppliers – see exactly how it’s going to work,” owner Tim Currie said. “But it’s going to be a big help for the tire shops and the customers as well.”

But other tire stores say that forcing them to join a statewide recycling program could drive up prices for consumers. Instead, they want to raise the fines for illegally dumping tires.

“The bad actors come in. They come in, they go through somebody’s cage. They steal the high-tread tires for used tires. And then they take the old tires and they dump them on the side of the road,” said Town Fair Tire president Mike Barbaro.

At Currie’s, a tractor trailer holds 3,000 tires for recycling.

“The tires get broken down so that they can get reused and recycled,” Tim Currie said. “The specific parts towards construction and things like that.”

He just wants everyone following the same rules his shop does.

“You try and do the right thing. It’s costly,” he said. “And then to see other people just kind of doing what they want with it. Yeah, it’s frustrating.”

Lawmakers said the tire recycling bill will likely see changes based on Friday’s testimony.

“We want to try to work with you,” said state Sen. Rick Lopes (D-New Britain).

Once changes are negotiated, the General Assembly’s Environment Committee is expected to vote on the proposal by March 31. It would then go on to the full Connecticut House of Representatives, which will likely make even more changes before a possible vote.