Environment and Conservation
November 21, 2006

Used Tire Recycling Plan Moving Forward

Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister of Environment and Conservation, and John Scott, Chair and CEO of the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB), announced today that the final phase of the used tire recycling program is moving forward as planned.

"The MMSB is making progress in moving the used tire recycling program forward," said Minister Jackman. "The responsible and proactive measures being taken by MMSB to secure the best possible solution for the recycling of used tires, combined with the new tire collection system it put in place last year, will ensure an effective and sustainable long-term outcome for the program as a whole."

On August 14, 2006, MMSB announced a solution to the used tire recycling program involving one of two definitive business strategies. The first strategy contemplated the establishment of an innovative technology-based tire recycling venture by a local engineering company to produce high value recycled products from scrap tires. The second considered an MMSB managed venture where used tires would be processed into tire derived aggregate (TDA) for use in civil engineering applications in the province. MMSB gave the technology-based venture until October 31, 2006 to raise the private investment it needed to proceed, failing which MMSB would move forward with its TDA strategy.

The technology-based venture has informed MMSB that it has reached agreements-in-principle with a number of investors that will allow it to proceed to the implementation stage, subject to the details being successfully worked out through the normal commercial due diligence process. It will take the company an additional period of time, likely to the end of the calendar year, to put all the details in place, including various shareholder agreements.

Mr. Scott said, "MMSB is encouraged by this development and is prepared to work with the company toward its final goal. The Board looks forward to executing a final agreement with the technology-based venture early in the new year, at which time full details of the venture will be announced publicly."

In the event this does not happen, MMSB still has the flexibility to meet its objectives through its TDA business strategy. A call for expressions of interest from the private sector to operate a potential TDA processing plant in the province will be issued this week to keep that option in play for 2007.

MMSB also announced today that the stockpile of used tires at Stephenville has been successfully removed and permanently disposed of through a Quebec�based recycling company. MMSB contracted for the removal of this stockpile in August and the work was completed by the end of October, almost two-months ahead of schedule.

Minister Jackman said, "We are grateful to the Town of Stephenville for the patience and cooperation extended to MMSB in dealing with the stockpile of used tires in their community."

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 tires through Quebec-based recyclers over the past two years and will continue to do so in the future for practical and logistical business reasons.

- 30 -

Media contact:

Diane Hart
Director of Communications
Department of Environment and Conservation
709-729-2575, 685-4401
dianehart@gov.nl.ca

 

Deborah Slade
Marketing and Communications
MMSB
709-753-0949
dslade@mmsb.nl.ca

 

 

BACKGROUNDER
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 routinely 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.
  • 2006 11 21                                   10:55 a.m..


    SearchHomeBack to GovernmentContact Us


    All material copyright the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. No unauthorized copying or redeployment permitted. The Government assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any material deployed on an unauthorized server.
    Disclaimer/Copyright/Privacy Statement