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Tyre fire highlights the problem of disposing them

Author
Rachel Das,
Publish Date
Wed, 28 Feb 2018, 10:43AM
The tyre fire has been burning in Canterbury since Monday. (Photo / Leanne Ellis)
The tyre fire has been burning in Canterbury since Monday. (Photo / Leanne Ellis)

Tyre fire highlights the problem of disposing them

Author
Rachel Das,
Publish Date
Wed, 28 Feb 2018, 10:43AM

Police are treating a north Canterbury fire as suspicious.

A pile of up to a thousand tyres along Racecourse Road, north of Amberley has been burning since Monday night.

Environment Canterbury have taken over managing the tyre fire, with staff on site working with the Canterbury District Health Board.

They are monitoring any potential contamination of ground water, including metals and hydrocarbons, but staff believe it is unlikely contamination will be a problem.

ECan says there's no easy solution to dealing with growing piles of old tyres.

There are only a couple of small tyre re-use places around the country, with piles of the highly flammable objects usually being moved around from property to property as councils issue abatement notices.

ECan regional lead for compliance delivery James Tricker acknowledges sustainable tyre disposal is a huge problem- both here and overseas.

"We all drive cars and they all have tyres and they all wear out and get replaced. It's a big issue as a sustainable ongoing issue."

An enforcement order is before the Environment Court to remove the about 200,000 tyres remaining on the property.

ECan are putting a clay cap over the fire to help minimise any effects of smoke and to remove the waste and top layer once the fire is out, preventing any negative environmental effect.

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