Tasmanian tyre recycling gets a boost with new $1.27M grant

The Tasmanian Waste and Resource Recovery Forum last week, a new $1.27 million government grant awarded to Tyrecycle will enable Tasmania to process end-of-life tyres locally instead of sending them interstate.

Minister for Parks and Environment, Nick Duigan, toured the Bridgewater facility today, expressing enthusiasm about the impact of the grant.

“It was fantastic to see how this grant will be used,” said Minister Duigan.

“Previously, end-of-life tyres collected from around Tasmania were pre-processed using the existing machine at Barwick’s and then manufactured into five-centimetre Tyre Derived Fuel chips using the new chipper.”

For the past decade, Barwick’s has been collecting and shredding waste tyres in Tasmania, but the process only reduced the tyres to a large size, requiring additional processing in Melbourne.

The new grant will upgrade the Bridgewater facility, allowing it to produce a value-added product that can be used as an alternative fuel for coal in various industrial processes, such as cement production.

“Due to the high energy content of tyres, when tyre-derived fuel is used in place of coal, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by about 30 per cent,” noted Minister Duigan.

This upgrade will reduce Tasmanian carbon emissions and provide sustainable use for the 650,000 end-of-life car tyres collected annually in the state.

The grant is part of the $3 million Waste Tyre Reprocessing Grant Program, established to find sustainable uses for end-of-life tyres in Tasmania.

Tyrecycle, the largest tyre recycler in Australia, has extensive experience in providing tyre-derived fuel to industries worldwide.

The upgrades at the Bridgewater facility will bring job certainty for Tyrecycle’s employees, aligning with Tasmania’s 2030 Strong Plan for a sustainable future.

The government noted that grants like these ensure it can continue to build on the gains made over the past 10 years to deliver a stronger economy and jobs for Tasmanians.