Old tires will be repurposed for new industrial mats thanks to a novel partnership in Sudbury.
B2B Industrial, in partnership with reThink Green, is collecting used tires, which will then be recycled into mats for use in the mining, construction, forestry, military, fishing, and car repair industries.
Members of the public can drop tires off year-round, for free, at two locations — Rainbow Concrete in Sudbury or A1 Blasting Mats in Sturgeon Falls — and from there B2B will haul them away for recycling.
Kevin Fitzgerald, vice-president of global sales at B2B Industrial, said nearly 100 per cent of the car and truck tires it collects are recycled, and proceeds from sales of the resulting mats remain in the region.
“Over 85 per cent of all expenditures made are made in the North to employ people from the North and produce services in the North,” Fitzgerald said in a Sept. 22 news release.
“The funds remain localized for the development of products and services to be delivered worldwide.”
The company estimates it will recycle between 500,000 and 750,000 tires in 2022.
Simon Blakeley, program director for reThink Green, calls tire recycling a "relatively simple” way to make changes toward sustainability.
“By recycling and repurposing these used tires here in the North, we can not only reduce our greenhouse gas emissions — eliminating some of the sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution channels — but positively assist our regional transition to the green economy,” Blakeley said in the release.
B2B is a member of Green Economy North, a sustainable business program of reThink Green.
The Sudbury-based organization helps small businesses across Northern Ontario become more sustainable.
