Scrap Tire Corporation and Environment Team Up to Deal with Dumping • • • • • In the end, one phone call could have saved everyone a lot of time and money. Instead, the Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation (SSTC) and Saskatchewan Environment’s investigation unit were called in to deal with more than 1000 scrap tires recently dumped on Crown land near Prince Albert. “This case is significant because it was a successful enforcement action by Conservation Officers acting on a report of dumping near Leoville, Saskatchewan,” says SSTC Executive Director Theresa McQuoid. Colleen Reddekopp with the Saskatchewan Environment Investigations Unit picks up the story from the beginning. “The complaint came in from the public that there were a large number of tires dumped on Crown land a few miles west of Leoville. Our investigation revealed who they belonged to, and we ended up executing a search warrant on his business and residence and we found all the documentation that we required. The individual was charged and paid a voluntary payment of
Return undeliverable copies to: Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation PO Box 1936 Regina SK S4P 3E1
$1000,” says Reddekopp. As McQuoid explains, it is surprisingly easy to track down where illegally dumped tires came from. “Oh, you’ll get caught. We can track the tires with some legwork. There are only a number of wholesalers in Saskatchewan, so with a little thinking you can find out where the tire originated. Keep in mind in this case there are only two tire dealers in the Leoville area,” explains McQuoid. The twist in this case was how unnecessary the illegal action was. McQuoid says the individual responsible for the illegal dumping was already a participant in the scrap tire program and as such had paid in advance for the tires to be collected. “If he had called us first, he would have realized that he had recycling credits (environmental handling fees paid by consumers on the purchase of new tires) and we could have come and cleaned up those tires at no cost at all. At the end of the day, the retailer was fined for his actions and the tires still had to be
cleaned up. It was lucky for him that he had tire credits available or it would have cost even more. Illegal dumping is unnecessary in any situation but in this case it was really unnecessary,” says McQuoid. Reddekopp says dumping on crown land continues to be an issue. “It’s actually more common than you think - especially when you get closer to the provincial forests. What will happen is that people will load up their truck to go to the dump but find out it’s closed or the tipping fee is more than they thought and they’ll wind up dumping on Crown land. The bottom line though is that you can’t use Crown land for your own personal dumpsite. You’ll get caught,” says Reddekopp. Saskatchewan generates over one million scrap tires every year. The Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation is a non-profit, non-government organization that delivers the provincewide tire recycling program. Since 1996, more than 10 million used tires have been diverted from the Saskatchewan waste stream and removed from municipal landfills. The used tires are processed into useful, marketable items including rubber paving blocks, playground surfaces and even the new turf at Mosaic Stadium. For more information on the scrap tire program: www.scraptire.sk.ca.
ISSUE 1
SPRING 2008
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Re-tire Reclaim Recycle
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Minister Heppner Congratulates SSTC on a Great Year CORPORATION RECEIVES PRAISE ON ACHIEVING SUCCESS Minister both attended the meeting and had good things to say about our program,” Schlosser said. “It was a nice way to close out the past year, one of the best years ever for the corporation.”
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downloaded at www.scraptire.sk.ca. Schlosser likewise acknowledged the various media outlets that showed up to cover the event. “It was great to see a number of reporters in the crowd,” he said. “This helps us get the message out to the general public about the good work that’s been enabled by their support of this program, and it’s certainly appreciated.” Coverage of the annual public meeting appeared in television, radio and print media.
The highlights for SSTC in 2007 include: • The collection and recycling of the 10 millionth tire Minister Heppner speaking at the SSTC AGM
Environment Minister Nancy Heppner spoke at the Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation’s Annual Public Meeting on March 31 in Regina. Minister Heppner praised the corporation for achieving the success it has in its ten years of operation. The Minister told the crowd of media, processors, collectors and board members, “I want to thank SSTC for all of your good work.” SSTC Chairman Don Schlosser in turn thanked the Minister for her kind words and for attending the meeting – the first appearance by an Environment Minister at the event in some time. “We were pleased to see that the
• Creation of a plan to clean up all municipal landfills by 2010 • The development of a “front end” payment system for processors • Funding for 12 community improvement projects through the Community Demonstration Grant Program • Supporting two major paving projects on Highway 1 and Highway 11 • Contributing towards the new turf on Taylor Field at Mosaic Stadium that uses 18,000 recycled Saskatchewan scrap tires. The meeting also saw the presentation of the 2007 Annual Report. Printed copies of the report can be obtained from the SSTC office at (306) 721-8473, but an environmentally friendly PDF version can be
2007 Annual Report now available
Tire Recycling on the Agenda at SUMA • • • • • Many of the municipal leaders attending the 2008 SUMA Convention went home with a new appreciation for tire recycling after attending an education session organized by the SSTC. The session, “On a Roll in Your Community: Tire Recycling After 10 Years”, featured presentations from SSTC Executive Director Theresa McQuoid and representatives of the province’s two major tire recyclers Curt Taylor, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Shercom
Industries, and Marc Topola, the Canadian Sales Manager for PermaLife Products. McQuoid gave delegates an update on Saskatchewan tire recycling program, what’s been accomplished over its first decade of operation and what’s planned for the coming years. She also provided an outline of the SSTC’s Community Demonstration Grant Program, which offers municipalities matching funding for community improvement projects that make use of recycled tire products.
SSTC Gives Back to Communities Through Grant Program • • • • • Planning a community improvement project? Landscaping a park? Repaving a street? Reshingling the town hall? The Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation’s Community Demonstration Grant Program might be able to help. Up to $5,500 is available in matching funding for capital projects that make use of recycled tire products. Financial support may be obtained to help with the purchase, transportation and installation of such items.
The program is open to all municipalities, schools, non-profit community groups, and First Nations and Metis settlements within the province.
Taylor and Topola each spoke on how their facilities near Saskatoon and Assiniboia operate, as well as the innovative products being manufactured there for the North American market. “I think a lot of mayors and council members were surprised and impressed to learn about all the great things that are made right here in Saskatchewan and available for them to use in their own homes, businesses and municipal operations,” McQuoid said. “These are all products and applications being manufactured out of the old tires that come from their vehicles and their landfills. I think it really drove home just all the good work this recycling program has done over the years, and what sort of an industry we’ve built here.” For more information on the Community Demonstration Grant Program, to download the program application package, or to see the many types of products being made from recycled tires, visit the SSTC website at www.scraptire.sk.ca or call the Scrap Tire office at (306) 721-8473.
More than 82,000 Tires to be Recycled in Highway Projects RUBBE R AS P HALT W IL L CO V ER O V ER 6 4 KM O F HIG H WAY
• • • • • More than 82,000 tires will be recycled thanks to a pair of planned resurfacing projects by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure. “This innovation helps Saskatchewan’s environmental record by reducing the amount of solid waste going into our landfills and encouraging the development of new technologies,” Highways and Infrastructure Minister Wayne Elhard said.
Rubber asphalt, which is produced in part from scrap tires, will be used instead of conventional pavement on more than 64 kilometers of provincial highways lanes near Maple Creek and Fort Qu’Appelle this year. About 1,300 tires are recycled for each lane kilometer of rubber asphalt. Rubber asphalt is
more resistant to cracking than conventional pavement and reduces the traffic noise characteristic of conventional pavement. Construction projects like these provide a market for recycled rubber products. Highway 1 near Maple Creek will have more than 30 kilometers of one lane resurfaced using rubber asphalt. The cost of the entire project is approximately $5 million. On Highway 10, about 17 kilometers will also be resurfaced in each direction at a cost of $5 million. Both projects are expected to be completed later this construction season, depending on weather and contractor capacity.
“By establishing a Transportation Centre of Excellence in the province, we plan to continue this innovation through improved road construction technologies and techniques.” Crumb Rubber Photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure
Join the many Saskatchewan communities that have already benefited from this program. The deadline for 2008 grant applications is May 30. All funding decisions will be made after this date, once all eligible applications have been received.
Rubber asphalt is more resistant to cracking than conventional pavement and reduces the traffic noise
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Example of program project
New Brunswick Raises Tire Recycling Fees It’s a sign of the times. The New Brunswick Tire Stewardship Board recently announced an increase in the environmental fees collected on the sale of all new tires in the province. Effective March 1, the majority of passenger car and truck tires are now
carrying a recycling fee of $4.50 each, while the levy for RV, bus and commercial truck tires stands at $13.50 apiece. The decision represents a fee increase of 50% on most tires, with a 50% decrease in one category to correct a
long-standing inconsistency in the province’s regulations. A tire recycling fee increase was implemented here in Saskatchewan just over a year ago, for much the same reasons cited by the New Brunswick board.
“The cost of all business inputs, particularly fuel and utilities, continues to rise steadily. The environmental handling fees collected on the sale of each tire represent a very small percentage of the total tire cost, yet they fund our entire recycling
program,” said SSTC Executive Director Theresa McQuoid. “Although our increases here in Saskatchewan weren’t as dramatic, we certainly know what our New Brunswick counterparts were facing.”