Summer “Ambassador” Program Travels Province
ISSUE 2
FALL 2009
R ETA ILER S PR OVID E FEED BACK
• • • • • Six summer students had unique jobs this year thanks to a collaboration of Saskatchewan’s environmental stewardship groups. The 2009 Recycling Ambassadors Project was a joint effort of the Saskatchewan Association for Resource Recovery Corp. (SARRC), The team left ‘vinyl clings’ with retailers
the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council (SWRC), SARCAN Recycling, Product Care (Saskatchewan Paint Recycling Program (SPRP), Saskatchewan Waste Electronic Equipment Program (SWEEP), Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation
(SSTC) and Retire Your Ride (RYR). The students attended various community events over the summer to help represent the stewardship groups, and also visited 900 retailers on behalf of all the organizations. Included in their schedule were visits to tire retailers and auto wreckers around the province to both educate about SSTC and hear any feedback retailers had to offer. The team also left behind “vinyl clings” to keep SSTC top-of-mind. Students visited 348 municipal offices on behalf of most of the project partners. They reported that many municipal offices were interested in Phase 3 of the SSTC Program and reported anecdotally that there are many farmers with tire piles that will want to take advantage of the cleanup of private stockpiles.
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TREADS •
Re-tire Reclaim Recycle
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Recycled Tire Projects Give A Lift In Six Communities G RANT P RO G RAM EN CO U RA G ES C O MMU NI T I ES TO US E RE CY CLE D T IR E PR O D UC T S Six communities around the province got a rubberized facelift over the summer with Community Demonstration Grants from the Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation (SSTC). The SSTC established the Community Demonstration Grant Program as a way to encourage communities to undertake projects that make use of recycled tire products.
examples to other communities across the province, and also enables SSTC to give back to the people of Saskatchewan, who have helped build one of the most successful tire recycling programs in Canada. The program is open to all Saskatchewan municipalities, registered non-profit organizations/ community groups, schools, and First Nations and Métis settlements.
The program helps to fund community improvement projects that serve as
Eligible applicants can apply for matching grants of up to $5,000 for the
purchase and transport of recycled tire products, and up to $500 for the installation of the product.
Crumb rubber playground surface
T HE 2 0 0 9 G RANT RE CI PI E NT S : Return undeliverable copies to: Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corporation PO Box 1936 Regina SK S4P 3E1
COMMUNITY
PR OJ ECT
R ECYCLED SCRAP TIRE CONTENT
Coronach Early Learning Literacy Centre
Pre-school playground surface; pathways
Crumb rubber playground surface; pathways
Resort Village of Coteau Beach (Community Club) Playground
Recycled rubber edging boards
Town of Rosetown
Pool park & playground
Rubberized asphalt pathway; rubber parking curbs
Town of Maidstone
Landscape upgrades (cemetery property)
Crumb rubber mulch
Town of Wakaw
Playground surface
Crumb rubber playground surface
City of Weyburn
Gordon Miles Place mini park
Crumb rubber playground surface
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Work Underway on Phase 3 of Program TA R GET – PR IVATE STOC K PI LE S OF SCRAP TI RES ACROSS THE PROVI NCE
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SSTC Leads New Research on “Rubber in the Road” A W HO L E NE W MARKE T F O R RE CY CL E D RUBBE R?
Preparations are underway to launch Phase 3 of the SSTC tire recycling program. Phase 1 dealt with simply establishing the program to collect scrap tires from retailers and develop a recycling system. Phase 2 undertook the work of collecting historical scrap tire piles from municipal landfills, which will be completed during 2009. Phase 3 will target private stockpiles of scrap tires across the province.
planning meeting,” said SSTC Executive Director Theresa McQuoid. “They laid out guidance for timing and general parameters of the budget. Now we’re getting down to work, developing the details of the plan itself.”
“Our board authorized development of the Phase 3 plan at our 2009 strategic
“There is much to be done, and the individual who takes on this
The first step in Phase 3 planning is to hire a full time Plan Coordinator to join the SSTC team. SSTC is working with an executive search firm to find the right person for this role.
responsibility will be managing the development and execution of the Phase 3 program,” said McQuoid. “We really need to be sure that we find the right candidate.” The coordinator will work with SSTC's Board and staff to develop and implement a multi-year program, which will seek to identify and collect the vast majority of private scrap tire stockpiles in Saskatchewan. The position is expected to be hired by the end of 2009 or early 2010.
• • • • • SSTC is facilitating a research project on the effectiveness of using rubber from recycled tires in road repairs. The project arose out of discussions with the City of Estevan, which was looking for an innovative approach to repair “frost boils”, which are areas of damage to paved roads cause by frost heaving.
wondered if this might have a broader application, and who could prove it out.” As a result a working group has been formed to test this idea. SSTC has put
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“There was some anecdotal evidence that good results had been achieved by using scrap tire materials to repair these frost boils,” says SSTC Executive Director Theresa McQuoid. “We
Billboard Campaign Targets Wider Audience
• • • • • 205,500 Tires Estimated to be in Highway Projects The most recycled scrap tires ever used in one roadwork season in Saskatchewan have been rolled into highways across the province as summer construction came to a close. An estimated 205,500 tires were put back into the roads, using crumb rubber asphalt pavement, which is produced in part from scrap tires. This alternative to conventional paving was used by the Ministry of Highways
As part of its ongoing public awareness campaign, SSTC ran a billboard campaign in September and October to get our message out across Saskatchewan.
“We wanted a fresh, new message in areas where we haven’t done as much advertising this year,” said SSTC Executive Director Theresa McQuoid. “I was really pleased with
this campaign.” The billboard campaign included postings in North Battleford, Yorkton Moose Jaw, Estevan, and Weyburn. The creative featured a
man and little girl looking at a pile of tires, making note of the fact that over 13 million tires have been recycled through the program, with the slogan “Thanks for your 13”.
and Infrastructure on resurfacing projects on Highways 1 and 32 in the Swift Current and Maple Creek areas. This typical resurfacing work recycles an estimated 1,300 tires per lane kilometre. Thinner resurfacing projects using similar technology on Highway 5 west of Humboldt, Highway 7 southwest of Saskatoon and Highway 11 near Kenaston are estimated to recycle about 500 tires per lane kilometre.
“This campaign gave us the chance to show the tremendous results of scrap tire recycling in Saskatchewan,” said McQuoid. “It is important that the success of the
together the project outline, and will be working with Communities of Tomorrow, the Saskatchewan Transportation Centre of Excellence, and the City of Estevan to test the concept. The details of the Road Rehabilitation using Recycled Tires project will be developed this winter, and the actual testing will take place during normal spring road repairs in Estevan in 2010. “If this idea works well, it could be a whole new market for recycled rubber from scrap tires,” said McQuoid.
During the 2009 construction season, about 227 km of various highway lanes were paved with asphalt crumb rubber, which helped divert an estimated 205,500 tires from landfills. “We are very pleased to see that both industry and the province’s Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure are using this technology more each year,” said SSTC Executive Director Theresa McQuoid. “It is truly a win-win, with both the environmental benefit of diverting tires from municipal landfills as well as an economic benefit from reducing long-term maintenance costs for rubberized asphalt.”
program is continually in the public mind.” SSTC’s advertising is reviewed and refreshed on a rolling six-month schedule.