Western Rubber Products Celebrates 100-Millionth Tire Recycled in B.C.

During the kick-off of Canada’s 20th Annual Waste Reduction Week, (Oct. 18-24, 2021) Western Rubber Products (WRP) Delta, British Columbia, a division of Liberty Tire Recycling, celebrated its 100-millionth tire recycled in the province, a milestone recognized at a celebratory event with industry stakeholders, local government representatives, partner businesses, and employees at the company’s long-time headquarters in Delta.

As the largest recycler of scrap tires in B.C., WRP recycles over five million tires annually and repurposes them into new and diverse consumer products and has been safely serving every part of the province sustainably and reliably for over three decades.

Working under Tire Stewardship BC in compliance with the B.C. Recycling Regulation, the company has been the province’s primary collector and recycler of used tires since 1989, handling of every type of car and truck tire, as well as various off-road tires including giant, mining truck tires.

“Every tire we handle is a tire that is kept out of B.C.’s landfills and our natural environment, with materials repurposed into innovative, new and useful products,” Neil Bansal, Regional Vice-President of Western Rubber Products, a division of Liberty Tire, said. “Our service model ensures we serve every part of the province, even rural areas,” Bansal said, “and as the province’s primary tire recycler, we have the critical mass necessary to handle both the pick-up and the processing of millions of tires every year at the end of their roadworthy life.”

Product stewards including Kal Tire, North West Rubber, Marathon Surfaces and Astroturf West were joined by Delta Mayor George V. Harvie and Tire Stewardship BC at a celebration last month, which included video remarks from Delta North MLA and Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy George Heyman, and Delta South MLA Ian Paton.

“Innovation is at the forefront for WRP as it invests in cutting edge products for repurposed tires and supports the equipment required to get each job done,”  Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, Ravi Kahlon, said. “It’s that kind of forward thinking that has also led to it celebrating 100 million tires recycled as part of Waste Reduction Week. This type of initiative leads to a cleaner province and more opportunities for everyone.”

WRP employs more than 120 full-time workers at their operations in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. The company also works with numerous trucking contractors to transport tires throughout the province. Recycled products like decorative mulch are in high demand, and different grades of ‘crumb rubber’ are used in the production of residential and industrial rubber mats, athletic surfaces, landscaping and a wide range of other applications where durability is paramount.

“We are proud to have a legacy company like Western Rubber Products operating in Delta,” Delta Mayor George V. Harvie said. “WRP’s successful waste reduction model and sustainable practices help us work towards a zero-waste economy.”

WRP also partners with university research teams to stay at the cutting edge of tire recycling innovation –investing in research and development to build longer-lasting roads, and identifying new value-added uses for tire fiber to extract even more value from recycled materials.

© Scrap Tire News, November 2021