Stockpiles of more than 100 tonnes of waste tyres without environmental board approval will be prohibited under new state government regulations.
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Environment Minister Matthew Groom said stockpiles greater than 100 tonnes will require an assessment and approval from the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act board.
The government hopes the changes will address tyre management in the state as Northern Midlands Council considers a proposal to rid Longford of a stockpile estimated at more than one million tyres.
It would ban tyre stockpiles at waste transfer depots and whole tyres going to landfill without authorisation.
“We are also developing an end-of-life tyre management strategy that will result in greater consumer awareness, greater cooperation with the Tyre Stewardship Council, increased management of illegal disposal, and other regulatory and market-based strategies,” Mr Groom said.
Any solution to Tyre Recycle Tasmania’s Longford stockpile needed to be market-driven, he said.
Barwick’s Landscape Supplies, which recently started a shredding business in the south, could address a significant proportion of the state’s waste tyre stream, Mr Groom said.
Tyre Recycle Tasmania, expected to have a 11,500-tonne stockpile by December, has proposed shredding its tyres to meet a 2020 deadline to clear its Longford facility. Critics of the plan say it won’t produce a saleable product and would rely on another business to process the tyres further.