As part of its plan to reduce tire waste in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL, the NL government’s Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB) has reached agreements with two Quebec cement manufacturers to eliminate a used tyre stockpile.

Through the agreements, Holcim (Canada) Inc and Lafarge Canada Inc will remove the stockpile of used tyres within a two-year period. They will use the tires for tyre-derived fuel, an alternate fuel source. A tender for the transportation of the tires to Quebec will be issued by the MMSB.

"Based on our analysis of this option to deal with the stockpile of tyres in Placentia, we are confident we have found a viable, cost-effective solution to deal with the approximately two million tires at the site," said N.L Environment and Conservation Minister Ross Wiseman. "This stockpile has been a challenge for a number of years, and we are most pleased with the agreements we now have in place." In addition to the new agreements, the MMSB entered into a long-term agreement with Holcim in 2010 to send the tires that are collected annually through N.L.’s Used Tire Recycling Program to Quebec for proper disposal. These tires are also used for tire-derived fuel.

Introduced in 2002, the Used Tire Recycling Program, administered by the MMSB on behalf of the N.L. Department of Environment and Conservation, bans the disposal of used tires in municipal waste disposal sites throughout the province and provides residents with an environmentally safe and cost-free way to dispose of used passenger and light truck tyres.

The MMSB will collect and divert an estimated 400,000 used tires in 2011 through the program.