New life for tired tires

Photo: Tire Stewardship BC

North Okanagan residents are able to have some fun, do some shopping and help the environment Saturday.

The 2018 Kal Tire Charity Garage Sale and Scrap Tire Round Up will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kal Tire office at 1540 Kalamalka Lake Rd.

Along with a garage sale, bake sale, and craft sale there will be plenty of children’s activities, like a bounce house, face painting, and an interactive display from the Allan Brooks’ Nature Centre, to keep the kids busy while parents shop.

Kal Tire will also be cooking up a barbecue by donation.

Unwanted tires can also be brought to the party where they will be recycled for free.

Tire Stewardship BC is a not-for-profit society formed to manage BC's tire-recycling program. The program collects an Advance Disposal Fee, commonly referred to as an eco fee, on the sale of every new tire. The fees are used to pay for transporting and recycling B.C.-generated scrap tires ensuring the tires are disposed of in environmentally responsible ways instead of ending up in landfills.

On average between 80-90 per cent of the scrap tires collected are recycled into products. Most are recycled into crumb rubber, which are granules of rubber with the steel and fibre removed. Recycled rubber is then used to create a variety of products including athletic tracks, synthetic turf fields, playground surfacing, flooring in recreational facilities, flooring and mats for agricultural and industrial use and coloured landscaping mulch.

The remaining scrap tires collected are used as a fuel supplement in the cement and pulp and paper industries.

The event will be held this Saturday, Sept. 22.