Portion of new Glenayre Elementary playground to be made of recycled tires

There’s still a lot riding on your tires.

The new playground at École Glenayre Elementary is set to get a little bounce from 773 scrap tires, according to an announcement from Tire Stewardship B.C.

Approximately 30 percent of the new playground will be made from recycled rubber, the school district stated.

Installed in the 1990s, the playground was in its “end of life” stage and in need of replacement, according to the school district.

“There’s a real need for that one,” said Tire Stewardship B.C. executive director Rosemary Sutton.

Following site prep work this summer, installation will likely take about six months, Sutton said, noting that the rubberized surface tends to be durable and require little maintenance.

The school district credited the Glenayre PAC and surrounding community for raising half of the $23,000 required for the project with the remainder paid for by the B.C. Tire Stewardship grant.

The not for profit group recycles about 5.5 million tires each year, Sutton said.

Old tires left at retailers across B.C. are collected and taken to a recycling plant in Delta where the material is separated and the rubber is shredded.

For playgrounds, the rubber is reduced to an “almost pinhead size” called crumb rubber, Sutton explained.

And while the rubber is being shredded, the group mulls applications from schools, municipalities, First Nations, and non-profit groups.

“We get way more applications than we have funds for, which then makes that process quite difficult,” Sutton said.

Tire Stewardship generally looks to spread projects across the province, while also evaluating projects based on need and community support.

The Glenayre project is one of 11 projects set to be installed this year, using a total of more than 10,000 tires.