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NLIS 1
August 14, 2006
(Environment and Conservation)
 


MMSB announces used tire recycling plan

Clyde Jackman, Minister of Environment and Conservation, and John Scott, Chair and CEO of the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB), announced today the final phase of government's new approach to the used tire recycling program in Newfoundland and Labrador. MMSB will implement a solution to the used tire recycling program through one of two definitive business strategies.

Following the public request for proposals issued last year, MMSB has entered into an agreement-in-principle with a Newfoundland and Labrador engineering company to establish an innovative technology-based tire recycling venture in the province. The company intends to establish a state-of-the-art plant to produce high value recycled products from scrap tires and create approximately 14 permanent jobs in the process. MMSB has given the company until October 31, 2006 to solidify the private investment it requires for implementation, at which time a formal contract will be awarded by MMSB and full details of the venture announced publicly.

If the company is not successful in raising the required investment capital by October 31, 2006, MMSB will move forward with a tire derived aggregate (TDA) business strategy in which used tires will be processed into TDA, under the direct control of MMSB, for use in civil engineering applications in the province. A TDA processing plant will be established by MMSB in this circumstance.

Minister Jackman said he is extremely pleased with the decisions taken by MMSB. A Upon the withdrawal of Newfoundland Envirotire Shreds Incorporated from the program in 2004, government stressed that it remained committed to this important recycling program and was determined to see the program succeed on a sustainable business-like basis in keeping with the highest environment standards," said the minister. "I am confident that MMSB's action plan announced today, combined with the new tire collection system it put in place throughout the province last year, will bring an effective long-term solution to the challenges that have confronted the program since its inception in 2002."

MMSB also announced today that it has contracted a Quebec-based recycling company to permanently dispose of the existing stockpile of used tires at Stephenville. This stockpile is not needed to support the business plan of the technology-based venture selected by MMSB, and the condition of the material that was partially processed by the former operator of the tire recycling plant in Stephenville is not suitable for reprocessing as TDA or other feasible locally available applications. Furthermore, the building that housed the tire recycling plant is now required by the Town of Stephenville for a potential new business enterprise. Removal of the stockpile will commence immediately and will be completed by the end of the calendar year.

The remaining two stockpiles of used tires at Placentia and Bull Arm as well as the ongoing supply of tires generated on the island will be recycled through either the technology-based venture or through MMSB's TDA business strategy. With respect to used tires generated in Labrador, MMSB has been disposing of most of those tires over the past two years through a number of short-term contracts with Quebec-based recyclers (for practical and logistical business reasons), and will be calling for long-term proposals in this regard in the very near future.

Mr. Scott said, "The Board of Directors of MMSB has determined that the technology-based venture represents the most advantageous approach for recycling used tires in Newfoundland and Labrador over the long-term and also offers the greatest potential to maximize economic benefits for the province. For these reasons, we are willing to be patient with the company to see if it can raise the investment capital required for implementation. However, if it is not able to do so, MMSB will be ready to advance its TDA business strategy immediately thereafter. In fact, MMSB will be taking a number of concrete steps over the intervening period to ensure its contingency plan is well positioned for full execution on a timely basis if required."

Mr. Scott also took the opportunity today to remind the public that they can drop off used tires at no cost to any tire retailer in the province during normal business hours. He also said that MMSB will continue to collect used tires from all retailers on a regularly scheduled basis in keeping with the new collection system that was implemented in 2005.

MMSB is a provincial Crown agency that reports to the Minister of Environment and Conservation. Its mandate is to support modern waste management practices in the province, with a particular focus on waste diversion, recycling and public education, in order to ensure a clean and healthy environment throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Media contact:

  • Diane Hart, Communications, Environment and Conservation (709) 729-2575, 685-4401
  • Deborah Slade, Communications, MMSB (709) 753-0949, 689-4795
  • BACKGROUNDERS

    Civil engineering applications for tire derived aggregate (TDA)

  • One of the most common and growing markets for used tires in Europe and North America is in civil engineering applications as a substitute for traditional aggregate material such as gravel and sand. This tire-based product is commonly known as tire derived aggregate or TDA.
     
  • Whole tires are processed into a variety of different sized tire shreds (between two inches and 12 inches in size) by utilizing specialized mechanical equipment to generate a TDA product that meets specific engineering standards.
     
  • Tire shred can be used as a durable and frost inhibiting material in the construction of roads, as lightweight fill for highway embankments and retaining walls, as a drainage material in a wide variety of public works and municipal infrastructure projects, and as a capping material for landfills that are being permanently closed.
  • Civil engineering applications for used tires are ro
    utinely utilized in Europe and North America today. The State of Maine, supported by the University of Maine, is considered a leader in North America. For more information visit their web site at www.useit.umaine.edu/factsheet/fsts.htm
     
  • The engineering properties of TDA are technologically proven and often superior to traditional sources of construction aggregate and meet all environmental standards when properly designed and applied.
     
  • MMSB will be pursuing a number of diverse pilot project applications for potential implementation in 2007, in partnership with the Department of Transportation and Works and the Department of Municipal Affairs, as a means of determining the most appropriate and effective civil engineering applications over the longer term in a Newfoundland and Labrador context. Specific projects will be selected in due course.
  • MMSB request for proposals (RFP) process

    • Approximately 450,000 used tires are generated annually in Newfoundland and Labrador. Additionally, MMSB currently owns and manages three stockpiles of used tires in the province - one at Stephenville (with an estimated 460,000 used tires), one at Bull Arm (with an estimated 110,000 used tires) and one at Placentia (with an estimated 750,000 used tires).
       
    • In March 2005, MMSB invited written proposals from parties interested in the recycling and/or permanent disposal of used tires from the three existing stockpiles and from the additional supply of used tires that are collected on an ongoing basis by MMSB.
       
    • Eight proposals were received through the RFP process. Two of these proposals were rejected as they were not accompanied by the required tender security. An additional proponent withdrew from the process during the early stages of evaluation.
       
    • Three proposals involved the shipment of whole tires to out-of-province markets for further processing, recycling or end uses, with minimal or modest processing within the province (none in one case) and all three bearing a significant and unsustainable cost to MMSB on an ongoing basis over the long term.
       
    • Two proposals were considered to have sufficient merit as to warrant detailed assessment in the context of the objectives established in the RFP process.
       
    • One of these short-listed proposals was Corner Brook Pulp and Paper�s (CBPP) plan to utilize processed tire chips as a supplementary fuel source in its industrial boilers at its mill in Corner Brook. CBPP subsequently decided to withdraw its proposal in November 2005.
       
    • The second short-listed proposal was from a Newfoundland and Labrador engineering company to establish an innovative, technology-based tire recycling venture in the province. MMSB has entered into an agreement-in-principle with this company and has given it until October 31, 2006 to raise the necessary private investment capital to implement its proposal.

    2006 08 14                                 9:10 a.m.


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