A 91原创 elementary school will be getting a new playground made of recycled tires next summer.

Wix-Brown Elementary received a grant through the 2023 Community Grant Program for a new playground, provided by the Tire Stewardship of B.C. (TSBC).

It鈥檚 an environmental not-for-profit group focused on collecting and recycling scrap tires in the province. Ten community projects are receiving grants that will utilize the group鈥檚 recycled tires.

At Wix-Brown, a new playground will be built using 3,011 repurposed tires for a playground that is accessible to all children.

鈥淭he vision for Wix-Brown is to create a playground that serves all children and offers accessibility for children with physical, cognitive, and/or sensory limitations,鈥� said Rosemary Sutton, executive director of the Tire Stewardship.

To achieve this, the playground will have accessible swings and ground-level equipment, and the surface will be made from low-maintenance 鈥減our-in-place鈥� rubber surfacing, she explained.

鈥淏ecause this play area will be heavily used by young children, the spongy character of the pour-in-place rubber will create a safer space for falls,鈥� Sutton said.

Tires collected by the stewardship are recycled at Western Rubber located in Delta. The recycling process separates the components of the tires into steel, fibre, and rubber before the rubber is processed into crumb rubber 鈥� which looks like tiny black granules.

The crumb rubber is then mixed with a binder and installers lay it out over a surface area 鈥� this is what鈥檚 called 鈥減our-in-place鈥� surfacing.

Sutton explained that TSBC collects scrap tires from retailers 鈥� often left behind by customers after a tire change 鈥� and from businesses that generate scrap tires like auto wreckers, and occasionally from landfills.

鈥淚f recycling did not exist in the province, tires would end up in landfills taking up valuable space, and creating both a fire hazard and a breeding ground for mosquitoes,鈥� she said.

鈥淚n addition, B.C. would be throwing away a resource that can be recycled into products that replace products made from virgin rubber, which reduces the carbon footprint by avoiding greenhouse gas emissions in transportation and new production.鈥�

There are several retailers in 91原创 that are registered with the TSBC for tire recycling including A & A Tire, Costco located on 64th Avenue, and Crompton鈥檚 Auto Care in Aldergrove.

Construction at Wix-Brown is expected to start July 2 and finish Aug. 30, 2024.

Grants are given out annually, and submitted projects must use recycled tire products made in B.C. and be public and wheelchair accessible.

More information and a full list of local retailers can be viewed at .

In addition to 91原创, total of 27,920 recycled tires will be used for different projects in several other communities around the province including Vancouver, Prince George, Saanich, Cobble Hill, and Sparwood, among others.

The tire scrap program has been recycling tires for more than 30 years. Since it was established in 1991, more than 100 million tires have been recycled in B.C.

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