Councils fight rubber mountain near Hamilton

By GREGG WYCHERLEY

A Hamilton company contracted to recycle almost half of the country's used tyres has gone broke, leaving behind a huge mountain of tyres and a major fire hazard.

Rubber Technologies was contracted by Bridgestone Firestone to collect and dispose of used tyres from outlets in the upper North Island, but went into liquidation after plans to recycle the tyres failed.

Now all that remains of the company is a stack of 100,000 tyres on two sites on the outskirts of Hamilton.

Fire Service spokesman Rob Saunders said a blaze would be difficult to control and large amounts of toxic smoke would be released. He said there was a small fire at the site last year, but there was no legal way to force the removal of the tyres.

David Blanchett of liquidators Beattie Rickman said the tyres were now the responsibility of the owners of the two properties.

He said Rubber Technologies had between 50 and 100 unsecured creditors, including the Inland Revenue Department, which was owed about $100,000.

The idea behind the recycling scheme was sound, he said, but the company did not have the capital base to develop a market for the shredded tyres.

Bruce Honeybone, a spokesman for landowner Grasshopper Developments, said the company was working with the Hamilton City Council and liquidators to ensure the tyres were removed.

He said Rubber Technologies had dumped tyres on the rented site since the end of 2000.

"They put far more tyres on there than were approved, and also over sites they didn't have any right to.

Mr Honeybone said the company had ordered Rubber Technologies director Surindar Nanua to stop dumping the tyres, even hiring security guards to ensure he complied.

Mr Nanua could not be contacted yesterday, but a visit to his property in a rural area on the outskirts of Hamilton revealed another tyre dump at the back of his house.

The Waikato District Council issued an abatement notice to force Mr Nanua to stop dumping the tyres on the residential property.

Hamilton City Council environmental general manager Graeme Fleming said the council had refused a request from the landowners to dump the tyres at a council owned landfill.

"We don't think transferring the problem from one site to another is a particularly smart thing to do.

"The obvious solution is some sort of disposal but who pays and how it's done is the matter for discussion now."

Mr Fleming said Bridgestone Firestone promoted itself as an environmentally responsible company and should play some part in disposing of the tyres.

"If they trade off a 'cradle-to-grave' environmental policy, maybe when things go wrong they have to front up."

Bridgestone Firestone NZ spokesman David Hine said the fate of the tyres rested with Rubber Technologies.

"We are, however, currently considering various options in seeking a solution to this problem."

He said the company appointed a new contractor for the tyres as soon as it was informed of Rubber Technologies' liquidation.

nzherald.co.nz/environment