Whereas the Tire Stewardship of BC website identifies Regional Transfer Stations in the north as the only location within small rural communities to which used tires can be returned for recycling and Various Regional Districts have notified the public that they will no longer accept used tires for recycling at the Regional Transfer Stations due to space constraints and collection issues; And whereas the loss of used tire collections sites within rural areas will result in the public discarding used tires on Crown Land along Forest Service Roads and within Gravel Pits; thus, defeating the Provincial Government strategy to place the responsibility for end-of-life product management on the producer and consumers, not the general taxpayer. The Provincial Government will have to cover the costs associated with clean up and disposal of the used tires discarded within crown lands. In addition, the environmental damage brings its own issues and costs: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM petition the Province of British Columbia to work with Tire Stewardship of BC to ensure proper collection and disposal of used tires in all British Columbia communities.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy The Provinces work to ensure proper collection and disposal of used tires continues across British Columbia, where select local governments have chosen to halt their involvement. Such involvement is usually a voluntary additional service for the convenience of residents, and not in place of the more common return-to-retail services. The Ministry has been working with Tire Stewardship BC TSBC to address these recent challenges faced by specific communities and is also developing clearer guidance to extended producer responsibility EPR agencies on what constitutes free and reasonable access to services. Ministry staff are currently undertaking work to identify possible changes to policy or guidance to increase accessibility to free and reasonable collection of tires and other products regulated under the Recycling Regulation; that includes considering matters such as the different challenges faced by urban centers and rural communities.
Tire Stewardship BC As UBCM members may not be familiar with the TSBC program, this is a good opportunity to share with you the notable work being done by Canadas first tire recycling program. In 2021 we celebrated our 30th anniversary in addition to the collection of our 100 millionth tire. BC is proud to be home to the largest tire recycler in North America and the largest recycled rubber mat manufacturer in the world. Also noteworthy, to date we have provided grants to 93 communities throughout BC for over 320 projects that use BC recycled rubber in applications such as playgrounds, running tracks, spray parks, outdoor fitness areas and arena flooring. TSBC represents the over 2,000 retailers located throughout the province that sell tires or equipment with tires on them. Each of these retailers will take back the scrap tires at the time new ones are purchased. It is from them, combined with locations such as auto wreckers, that TSBC collects 95 of the 5.5M car tire equivalents generated annually in BC. A subset of these retailers, currently over 760 across BC, will also take back tires from the public even though there is no transaction for the purchase of new tires. These are known as Return to Retailer locations R2Rs. Despite offering these locations, on occasion consumers will choose to dispose of their tires at a local government landfill or transfer station. In recent years TSBC has invested heavily in communication and awareness campaigns to educate consumers seeking a disposal option about TSBCs location finder on its website, which will direct them to one of these R2R locations. Specific to McBride, TSBC was aware of the decision by the Fraser Fort George Regional District to ban tires from its landfill sites, either immediately or with 2 months notice for some sites, which resulted in a gap for the residents. However, this gap was remedied back in August of 2022 when a retailer stepped up to be the drop off location for McBride. TSBC also participates in the districts annual collection event in McBride, typically held in early fall. TSBC intends to continue participating and will host its own collection event should the district decide not to continue. Given the perception that TSBC does not have adequate disposal options, it also seems important to mention that when Prince George closed its landfill transfer station with no notice, TSBC already had 22 locations where a consumer could dispose of a tire. It may also be of interest that TSBC is a member of the First Nations Recycling Initiative and the Indigenous Zero Waste Technical Advisory Group, which assist First Nations communities through both education and the collection of waste products such as tires. TSBC provides financial support to these communities and other remote communities where the infrastructure and transportation logistics are challenging. TSBC remains committed to continuous improvement in all areas of its program.