Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, Shercom, call on gov't to slash tire recycling levy

Province to slash tire recycling levy? WATCH: The Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce is calling on the province to slash the tire recycling levy in half. Wayne Mantyka explains.

The Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce is calling on the provincial government to slash the tire recycling levy in half – following allegations that some Saskatchewan scrap tires are no longer being processed in the province.

Saskatchewan motorists pay a $5.00 recycling fee for each new tire they purchase.

The tire processing contract recently went from a long established Saskatoon firm to a California company with a new facility in Moose Jaw and plans for a second in Saskatoon.

In the meantime, the government confirms that some tires have been trucked out of province during periods of overcapacity.

In a letter to the Minister of Environment, the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce says “it is evident that shipping tires to Alberta for processing by a U.S. company delivers no benefit for Saskatchewan’s economy, environment, consumers or businesses.”

The chamber is calling on the minister to cut the recycling fee consumers pay in half until 100 per cent of tires are again processed in Saskatchewan.

The NDP opposition says it’s a problem created by government.

“It’s now clear that the Saskatchewan tire processing fees paid by Saskatchewan people on their tires are now going towards creating jobs in Calgary, not in Saskatchewan,” Leader Carla Beck told reporters Wednesday.

Shercom Industries, the Saskatoon company that recycled Saskatchewan tires for 30 years, says the situation didn’t have to come to this.

“We’re extremely disappointed in both the Stewardship (Tire Stewardship of Saskatchewan) and the province,” CEO Mike Richards told CTV News. “We have a $20 million dollar facility sitting here in Saskatoon that can process twice what the province can produce in tires and its sitting mothballed.”

The government believes that any issues are temporary.

In a written statement, the Ministry of Environment said it hopes a second processing facility opens as soon as possible.