Search for ways to dispose of used tyres
Industry is being asked to help find an acceptable solution to rid Western Australia of its growing stockpile of used tyres.
Industry is being asked to help find an acceptable solution to rid Western Australia of its growing stockpile of used tyres.
Environment Minister Bob Pearce said today that the Department of State Development was inviting companies to lodge expressions of interest to either dispose of the tyres or process them.
"A number of new technologies have now been developed for handling used tyres and the State Government is prepared to offer special assistance to see an appropriate new enterprise established," Mr Pearce said.
The Minister said the State's various tyre stockpiles were becoming too large to ignore.
"It has been estimated that we now have at least three million old tyres in stockpiles," he said.
"We have already experienced a horrendous blaze at Bindoon two years ago, when more than 500,000 tyres caught alight - we cannot risk having another like it.
"The problem is not only the danger such fires cause, but the pollution. Literally tonnes of toxic gas can be pumped into the atmosphere and other toxic materials are likely to leach into the ground."
Mr Pearce said one solution was to use the tyres as fuel - possibly used to power an adjoining factory.
"We believe it is technically, commercially and environmentally feasible to use tyres for energy," he said.
"There are now furnace/boilers available which operate at very high temperatures and so prevent pollution, but they also have the added advantage of being able to handle any plastic materials which cannot be recycled."
Mr Pearce said ideally he would like to see the tyres used as the raw material to manufacture a more valuable product.
"The decision to invite expressions of interest will enable the Department of State Development to gauge which technology offers the most benefits," he said.
Mr Pearce said a short-list of companies who expressed interest would be drawn up and assistance offered with independent feasibility studies.
The company finally chosen would be offered assistance in preparing environmental impact studies, and capital assistance under the WA Advantage program.
