Halifax C & D Tire Recycling Facility: FAQs

Q: Where will the Tire Recycling Facility be located and how big will it be?
Q: Are the tires going to be burned?
Q: How will the tires be recycled?
Q: Does this site have proper zoning?
Q: Does the facility have all of the required permits to begin operation?
Q: How much noise will be produced at the facility?
Q: Will truck traffic increase on the Prospect Road due to tire recycling activities?
Q: How much dust or air pollution will be produced by the tire recycling facility?
Q: What will the operating schedule be for the tire recycling facility?
Q: What is the chance of a fire?
Q: Will excess water from the tire facility affect the Drysdale Bog?
Q: Is there leachate from whole tires and/or TDA?
Q: Is there going to be a public meeting?
Q: How many jobs will be created?

Q: Where will the Tire Recycling Facility be located and how big will it be?
A: The Tire Recycling Facility will be located immediately adjacent to the existing Halifax C & D Recycling Yard on Mills Drive, Goodwood, NS and will be about 2.2 hectares (5.5 acres) in size (see the attached Facility Layout Plan for more details).

Q: Are the tires going to be burned?
A: No, tires will not be burned at the tire recycling facility. In fact, there are no facilities in Nova Scotia that can legally burn tires.

Q: How will the tires be recycled?
A: Shortly after arriving on-site, the tires will be inspected and then processed through an industry-proven shredder which mechanically shears the tires. This process does not produce heat, dust or other air emissions; the high-capacity shredder is very efficient and can shred all tires received each day within four to eight hours. The shredder is calibrated to produce pieces of shred ranging from 50 to 300 mm in size in accordance with ASTM D6270 specifications for Tire Derived Aggregate (TDA). The TDA will be used for civil engineering projects throughout Nova Scotia on an on-going basis.

Q: Does this site have proper zoning?
A: Yes, the property has been zoned I-1 and has operated as an industrial site since 1980.

Q: Does the facility have all of the required permits to begin operation?
A: At the present time HCD is proceeding with all applications to obtain required permits.

Q: How much noise will be produced at the facility?
A: The tire shredder is relatively quiet and operates at a sound level of about 86 decibels in close proximity to the shredder. Because the shredder will operate in an enclosed building, it will not contribute any perceptible noise to the surrounding environment. Equipment operation at the tire recycling facility will normally involve only one to two front-end loaders at any given time, so any increase in sound emissions should be minimal and in keeping with other activities in the industrial park area. Truck traffic at the tire recycling facility will be limited and should not contribute significantly to the overall sound emissions from the area.

Q: Will truck traffic increase on the Prospect Road due to tire recycling activities?
A: There will be a slight increase in truck traffic of about 3 to 8 trucks per day depending on the season. This volume increase is relatively small in comparison to the previous operations at the site. Historically, the site was operated as an off-shore drilling equipment storage yard from 1980 to 2000 by 5 major oil companies. It is estimated that an average of 15 to 20 large trucks per day moved in and out of that facility for over two decades.

Q: How much dust or air pollution will be produced by the tire recycling facility?
A: The tire shredding process will produce no dust or other on-site air emissions other than those air emissions produced by regular equipment and truck operations at the site,. No chemicals or hazardous materials will be used during, or generated by, the tire shredding process. All traffic areas and outdoor storage areas have been paved with asphalt and the asphalt surface will be maintained free of debris and aggregate materials in order to minimize dust.

Q: What will the operating schedule be for the tire recycling facility?
A: It's anticipated that the tire facility will operate Monday through Friday in conjunction with the activities of other businesses in the industrial park.

Q: What is the chance of a fire?
A: The overall design of the tire recycling facility is based on fire prevention as a first priority. A security fence and a security guard on site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is intended to minimize the risk of arson activities. Proactive measures such as ensuring adequate clearances between storage areas, buildings and property lines and constructing concrete separation barriers between storage areas contribute significantly to fire prevention. Developing an overall Fire Safety Plan in conjunction with the Provincial Fire Marshall's office and the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Services is also a critical step in preventing fires at the facility. Equally important, are measures that HCD will put in place to effectively respond to any fire event before it has an opportunity to become a bigger problem. Maintaining a water reservoir and pump house with water access fittings, a soil stockpile, a supply of on-site fire suppressant material and application equipment, training of site personnel and on-going safety and emergency response meetings, and on-going and effective consultation with local fire response agencies, are all critical components of our overall fire prevention and response capability. In short, the chance of a fire is minimal; however, HCD wants to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to effectively deal with any fire event if one should ever arise.

Another important factor is that tire shred inventory presents far less of a fire hazard than whole tire inventory simply because the air voids associated with the storage of whole tires is significantly reduced in shred inventory thus reducing the risk of fire significantly. Our facility is designed to process tires into shred as they arrive, so only a limited amount of whole tires will be stored at the facility at any given time. Storage bunkers for both whole tires and shred are located on impermeable asphalt or concrete surfaces with three meter high concrete separation barriers, designed to reduce the risk of fire spreading between storage units. The site is designed in accordance with the most recent National Fire Code requirements. It is also noteworthy that the tire shredding process at our facility will require neither heat nor chemical break-down, which also helps to eliminate potential sources of fire on our site

Q: Will excess water from the tire facility affect the Drysdale Bog?
A: The tire facility is located on an 8.5 acre site which has been zoned as an industrial site for the past 30 years and has had a gravel surface covering a variety of backfill materials. We now have greater control over the surface water quality with 5.5 acres of asphalt surface on the site which will help to eliminate dust and reduce suspended solids in surface water runoff. The 1.5 million litre reservoir acts as a control buffer which captures sediments as they are leaving the site. The asphalt and water reservoir enables better monitoring of water activity and quality. Testing of surface water runoff and groundwater will be carried out to comply with any regulatory requirements and/or voluntarily to ensure there are no unanticipated negative water quality effects offsite.

Q: Is there leachate from whole tires and/or TDA?
A: No, there would be no measurable leachate from the small volume of whole tires that would be stored at the tire recycling facility at any given time. The potential for TDA to generate leachate has been extensively examined in field studies for civil engineering applications for both above and below the groundwater table. Numerous scientific investigations have determined that off-site water quality effects of TDA are negligible. Nonetheless, Halifax C&D plans to implement mitigation measures such as runoff containment and testing prior to release offsite.

Q: Is there going to be a public meeting?
A: At this point no public meeting is mandatory, however HCD is planning to provide a site visit/open house in 2010 as the facility takes shape.

Q: How many jobs will be created?
A: 5 to 7 full-time jobs will be created.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Chassie
Office: (902) 876-8644
Email: dchassie@halifaxcdrecycling.ca

Nick Russell
Office: (902) 876-8644
Email: nrussell@halifaxcdrecycling.ca