Measures in place to prevent tire fire on P.E.I., says IWMC

Island Waste Management Corporation saysit has precautions in place to avoid a tire fire on P.E.I.CBC News asked IWMC about its tire storage practice after therecent fire at a tire recycling facility in Minto, N.B.

The massive fire at the Minto tire recycling plant started on Dec. 20 and burned for a week, resulting in an air-quality advisory that was only lifted on Monday. Awater advisory in the area remains in effect.

Gerry Moore, IWMCCEO, says all of the Island's waste tires are taken to the corporation's Wellington waste management site.From therethey are either shredded on the Island and used for public works projects, orsent to a recycling facility in Quebec, he said.

Moore said part of preventing fires at the site, is in the way it is organized.

"You don't want to pile them in one large pile, and keep adding to the pile." Moore said at IWMC's facility, the tires are placed in spaced out rows that are kept toa certain height, "so that if there was a fire they're all not going tocatch fire."

"And you're able to move equipment in between the rows and either bury them with clay if there was a fire, and/or move them so that they're not going tocause any damage to the neighbouring windrow."

Moore saidat any given time there may be roughly three or four tractor-trailer loads on the groundat the Wellington site, which he said isn't a very large number.

"As they come in we schedule tractor-trailers to move them out," he said.

Moore said there tends to be a larger number of tires coming through the facility inthe spring and late fall when people are changing tires for the season.

In total, Islanders dispose of about2,400 tonnes of tires each year, Moore said.

More P.E.I. news