About 20 tonnes of old tyres were recycled at the Katherine waste facility yesterday.
The first stage of the council’s tyre recycling project started yesterday, with tyre recycler “Tyrecycle” loading up around 20 tonnes of Katherine’s old tyres for a trip to Adelaide for recycling.
By the end of Stage 1, about 80 tonnes of tyres will have been removed from the Waste Management Facility – more than half of the tip’s tyres.
The recycling process starts with the shredding of the tyres.
The metal is removed and recycled and the rubber is transformed into granules, which is then put to use in playgrounds, sporting facilities and on road surfaces. It is also used as a fuel additive by the cement, paper and steel industries.
Their highly controlled combustion processes remove hazards associated with an open tyre fire and the rubber acts as a substitute for fossil fuels, thereby reducing greenhouse gases.
Recycling of tyres is still an expensive business and Katherine Town Council recently updated fees and charges for dumping of tyres at the waste facility, to assist in recouping some of the recycling costs.
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