Maffeo Sutton Park Playground in Comox used recycled tires to create the new rubberized surface. Similar upgrades are coming to two North Vancouver elementary schools. Tire Stewardship BC
By Fatemah Falah, North Shore News
Kids at a pair of North Vancouver schools will have some extra bounce in their steps thanks to a program that uses old tires to add new life to playgrounds.
Tire Stewardship BC, an environmental not-for-profit group dedicated to collecting and recycling scrap tires in British Columbia, recently announced the eight B.C. organizations that will receive its grants to carry out community playground projects utilizing B.C. recycled tires. Among the recipients of the grant are Lynn Valley Elementary and Boundary Elementary in North Vancouver. The two schools will use 1,650 and 582 scrap tires, respectively, to revamp their playgrounds.
Completed projects will be fully accessible and open to all members of the public, and in total, 11,741 B.C. scrap tires will be used across the eight projects in B.C.
“Pour-in-place rubber surfacing is a desirable surface material for enhancing playgrounds,” said Rosemary Sutton, Tire Stewardship BC executive director. “Rubber surfacing increases the accessibility of playgrounds and makes them more inclusive for people of all ages and all abilities. For example, if a child is in a wheelchair, pea gravel or other surfaces can be challenging to navigate. Rubber surfacing ensures children and adults of all abilities can participate, and everyone in the community benefits.”
The TSBC community grant program supports municipalities, registered non-profit community groups or organizations, schools, and First Nations and Métis settlements that are building or upgrading their facilities using recycled tire products. TSBC has given out more than six million dollars in community grants, funding more than 340 projects.
B.C.’s scrap tire program has been recycling tires for more than 30 years, and is the oldest tire recycling program in Canada. Since the scrap tire recycling program was first established in B.C. in 1991, more than 115 million tires have been recycled in the province.
To learn more about the Tire Stewardship BC Community Grant Program, visit the TSBC website.
Fatemeh Falah is an intern reporter with the North Shore News. She can be contacted at zohreh.fallah1981@gmail.com.
