Environment

A1 Blasting Mats is a registered processor of recycled tires with the Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS). Since 2009, the OTS and it’s members have been responsible for completely removing all tire piles across Ontario and recycling over 50 million tires to date. As members of OTS, we are dedicated to rethinking used tires, and finding innovative ways to create a more sustainable future.

Why is recycling tires important?

Before recycling, tires were discarded and piled in landfills and tire piles. These tire piles were a significant fire hazard as a burning tire pile is extremely difficult to extinguish and produces significant amount of toxic smoke, and toxic runoff into waterways.

As an example, the Heyope tire dump in the UK burned (and produced pollutants) for over 13 years, making it the longest burning tire fire in Britain’s history. The tire pile was so dense that it was impossible for fire fighters to reach the pile’s interior to put out the flames.

The main concerns are the leaching of hazardous elements that get released when the tires are burned.

By recycling tires into new innovative products, we can eliminate the need for these tire piles.

Article about the Heyope tire dump:  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2002/may/15/environment.waste

How We Help

By recycling over 50 million tires since the founding of OTS, we as a province have reduced carbon emissions by the equivalent of taking 449,000 cars off the road. We have also taken used, unwanted, tires, and created millions of dollars in new investment as well as thousands of jobs across the province.

For more information about the OTS, their programs, and services, visit: http://rethinktires.ca/

Our Role in the OTS

Here in Sturgeon Falls, we have taken used tires, and converted them into blasting mats for construction and other industrial applications. We are also always looking for new applications for the tires we collect. Since we began in 1987, we alone have recycled over 11 million tires, and we’ve created over 100 jobs in our northern community.