The proposal, which was submitted by Barwicks Landscape Supplies Pty Ltd, would see a mobile shredder process up to 300,000 tyres per year, which would then be transported offsite for disposal. 

The proposed facility would be the first tyre recycling facility in the state, although similar facilities are currently being considered in the state's North, including a Tyre Takers project in Westbury and a Green Distillation Technologies project in Longford.

Fire management and noise pollution were both considered in the facility's environmental assessment, with EPA director Wes Ford confident the proposal could meet the required standards providing some noise attenuation measures were in place.

Northern Midlands mayor David Downie said while the Bridgewater facility was a step in the right direction, it would not cover the 400,000 end-of-life tyres Tasmania produces every year.

“There's some serious interest being shown in trying to find a solution for the end of life tyre problem,” Cr Downie said. 

“I think that's great that the facility's been approved but it won't handle the total production of tyres that are produced in Tasmania.

“We still need a solution for how to handle the stockpile - it needs another facility as well.”

Until March, all of the state's used tyres were collected at a stockpile in Longford, which currently stores about 1.3 million tyres.

Cr Downie said he hoped Tasmania could play a role in providing a solution to both its own and the rest of the country’s end-of-life tyre problems.

“We still need to find a use for the processed product; we need an industry that will have a facility to use the by-products of processed tyres. 

“We believe as a council it's an opportunity for someone in Tasmania or Australia to work on the problem, it's probably an issue where the three tiers of government need to be working together to find a solution.”