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Assiniboia residents can soon say goodbye to a longstanding, black, heaping eyesore on the north side of their town — tonnes of tires.
The provincial environment ministry announced on Tuesday afternoon that it’s partnering with the Tire Stewardship of Saskatchewan (TSS) to help clean up the 14.72 million pounds of scrap tires and rubber left over at the site of the now-closed rubber recycling plant.
The ministry has earmarked up to $3.3 million for the clean-up costs, environment minister Dustin Duncan said.
The plant closed shop in February 2014, and the company that managed it went into receivership in July 2014.
An emailed news release from the ministry said the company left behind 6,678 tonnes, or 14.724 million pounds, of scrap tires and processed materials.
Duncan said the TSS has finished its request for proposals process to find a company to do the clean-up; the TSS has a company in mind that it wants to take on the project, but he didn’t say which company that is.
“They’re close to signing an agreement with the company that they’ll award it (the clean-up project) to,” he said.
“Any contaminated site in Saskatchewan becomes a risk to public health and safety if not managed properly,” Duncan said in the news release.
In February 2016, Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative candidate Brian Archer issued a formal letter to then-Premier Brad Wall, calling the province to clean up the massive mess.