Photo courtesy of Tire Stewardship BC.
Tire Stewardship BC (TSBC), headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia, says it has finalized the 13 B.C. organizations that will receive TSBC grants for community development projects. In total, nearly 15,000 B.C. scrap tires will be used to complete the projects, the not-for-profit group says.
Projects include the surfacing of playgrounds, walkways, parks and other gathering spaces.
“Tire Stewardship BC is pleased to provide financial support to organizations across the province that have chosen to use recycled tire rubber for their upcoming projects,” says Rosemary Sutton, executive director of the organization.
“These grant recipients will use B.C. rubber for the surfacing of various communal areas making them durable, nontoxic, and low maintenance,” Sutton adds. “Rubber surfacing made from B.C. scrap tires is also nonslip, making it safer for everyone, and it creates a soft landing in playground areas. Additionally, rubber surfacing is cost effective and visually attractive.”
The TSBC community grant program has been designed to support municipalities, registered nonprofit community groups or organizations, schools and First Nations and Métis settlements who can use products derived from scrap tires as they are building or upgrading facilities. To date, TSBC says it has awarded more than CA$5.8 million in community grants.
“TSBC will continue to look for opportunities to partner with businesses that are making environmentally conscientious decisions and understand the importance of utilizing recycled products in the development of their community infrastructure,” Sutton says.
The provincial B.C. scrap tire program has been recycling tires for more than 30 years and is described by TSBC as the oldest recycling program in Canada. Since the scrap tire recycling program was first established in B.C. in 1991, more than 100 million tires have been recycled in the province, according to the group.