BROOKFIELD, Nova Scotia (Nov. 21, 2007) — A Nova Scotia provincial agency is reconsidering its scrap tire management program, based on negative report on tire-derived fuel.
The Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labor's action stalls, at least for now, a proposed contract that would result in 900,000 scrap tires being used as fuel each year in the province. The pact between the Resource Recovery Fund Board of Nova Scotia and cement maker Lafarge Canada Inc. calls for burning the tires as fuel in Lafarge's cement kilns in Brookfield, Nova Scotia, and Gatineau, Quebec.
The report by a committee of the department states tire-derived fuel is not the best option for Nova Scotia's environment, and presents a number of alternatives, according to Mark Parent, minister of environment and labor.
The Resource Recovery Fund Board will meet with provincial officials soon to begin discussions on a new scrap tire strategy, and the talks are expected to continue during the next few months, said a board official.
Lafarge remains interested in using tire-derived fuel in Nova Scotia, said James Kirkpatrick, plant manager at the firm's Brookfield site.