Province looking to keep more tires out of landfills

By MorinvilleNews.com Staff

Edmonton – In an effort to expand its efforts to keep tires out of Alberta landfills the government announced last week that it will be expanding the tire recycling program to include industrial and off-road tires.

The change will come into effect Apr. 1, 2011 and will see medium off-road tires with rim sizes between 24 and 33 inches levied a recycling fee of $100. There is no proposed increase to the existing fee on car, pickup truck, and other light-duty vehicle tires, which the province says represent approximately 80 per cent of the tires in Alberta. As a result, the average Albertan consumer is not directly affected by the changes.

“Alberta is a leader in Canada for the recycling of scrap tires,” said Environment Minister Rob Renner in a release Thursday. “The ultimate goal is to keep scrap tires out of municipal landfills. By making these necessary adjustments to the program, we will ensure the recycling program continues and is financially viable.”

Until 2006, the technology to process industrial and off-road tires was not widely available. Since then, with the introduction of new technology, 22,000 tonnes of off-road tires have been processed.

“This is a tremendous move forward,” said Sid Hinton, Chair of Alberta Recycling. “It will ensure that sound environmental solutions for scrap tires in Alberta can continue into the future, and that the solutions are funded by those who buy and use the tires.”

More than four million tires are collected for recycling from municipal landfills and tire and vehicle dealers each year. These tires are processed and made into recycled material and products used in Alberta, the rest of Canada, the U.S. and overseas. More than 60 million tires have been recycled since the program began in 1992.

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