TCT tyre project grows
The TCT is proud to announce a new sponsor, having recently received $5000 from TyreCycle to kick-start our Tasmanian Tyre Cleanup Program. TyreCycle is Australia’s largest recycler of tyres, processing more than one million tyres per year and the company is dedicated to finding profitable and sustainable uses for end of life car and truck tyres.
The TCT will use this funding to start our program to clean up car tyres where they have been inappropriately stored or illegally dumped. The goals of this program are to remove this dangerous legacy problem and to prevent this problem from occuring by encouraging all end of use tyres to be sent for recycling.
To make our money stretch further we are prioritising projects where the affected land owner or community group makes a sizable contribution, hopefully dollar for dollar. For example, the next cleanup event at Rokeby will be assisted with a donation of $600 from the Clarence Plains Land and Coast Care Group. They will also provide volunteers to collect the tyres.
We are also putting some of this funding to use building our web site and surveying tyre retailers and garages.
Volunteers wanted to help collect car tyres
Thursday 9am to 12 noon. Meet at Droughty Point Road, Rokeby: next to the mouth of the Clarence Plains Rivulet.
What are we doing:
Most of the 500 plus tyres are clean and just need to be collected and stacked in a convenient place ready for loading on to trucks. A small proportion of tyres need cleaning.
What to bring:
- Gardening gloves.
- Wear sturdy shoes, long trousers, long-sleeve shirt, bring a hat and sun screen.
- Bring your own drink and snacks.
EPA policy
The TCT commends the EPA for recently initiating a ‘Draft Approved Management Method for the Storage and Reuse of Waste Tyres’ and we will be making a detailed submission on it. However, the proposed Approved ManagementMethod (AMM) will, by itself, have limited benefit. The AMM, if enforced, will apply a consistent means of storing used tyres (for premises with up to 6250 tyres) and restricting the uses that old tyres can be put to and providing a cap on numbers.
But the AMM will do nothing to help people who wish to remove used tyres from their land nor will it provide an incentive for retailers to recycle tyres to prevent further accummulation. With the AMM, tyres will continue to accummulate ‘legally’ across Tasmania, albeit in numbers up to 6250 at any one premises. The AMM allows for temporary or mobile reuse of tyres but does not address the ultimate end use of these tyres.
The AMM will also not provide any solution for the Longford stockpile.