Moe asks Tire Stewardship Saskatchewan to pause search for new processor

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has asked Tire Stewardship Saskatchewan to pause its search for a new Saskatoon-area processor.

The move by Moe follows a split between Tire Stewardship Saskatchewan (TSS) – the organization which oversees all tire recycling in the province – and Shercom Industries Inc. The organizations couldn’t reach a long-term contract agreement, meaning Shercom was no longer able to accept tires for recycling.

According to Shercom president Shane Olson, that means dozens of layoffs for the Saskatoon-based company, which sells products created using the recycled rubber from tires.

“We were unable to come to terms on a long-term agreement, or even on a short-term arrangement to allow us to do some more independent analysis on the current rate that they’re being paid,” said TSS CEO Stevyn Arnt in a previous interview with 650 CKOM.

“I understand they’re very upset. No one likes to lose a monopoly.”

In the southern part of the province, TSS said tire recycling will be handled by Crumb Rubber Manufacturers, a California-based company, at a location in Moose Jaw. On Thursday, TSS announced a request for proposals for “a second principal processor to be in the north central part of the province, in or close to Saskatoon.”

But that process is expected to be put on hold after an announcement from Saskatchewan’s premier Monday.

“Premier Moe has asked Cam Swan, former Deputy Minister to the Premier and former Deputy Minister of the Environment, to engage with the Ministry of Environment and Tire Stewardship Saskatchewan to review procurement practices and assess future needs of tire recycling and processing, and to provide recommendations to the Minister,” a statement from the provincial government read.

“As a result, the Government of Saskatchewan has asked TSS to pause the current RFP for a Saskatoon-area processor. The review is expected to be completed later this summer.”

Marlin Stangeland, CEO of Shercom, said he was encouraged that Moe asked TSS to press pause on the request for proposals.

“We’re encouraged to see that it’s going to get another look,” Stangeland said. “We believe that any neutral party that takes a good look at this will be appalled at what they find in terms of the way this has unfolded.”

Asked whether Shercom will be participating in the government review, the CEO said he couldn’t yet say for sure.

“We would expect that would be the case, but look forward to hearing more details in the coming hours and days,” he said.

Stangeland said out-of-province tire recyclers have tried to move into the province nine separate times over the years, all without success.

“It’s resulted in nine failures, and many of those have resulted in large tire piles being left behind,” he said. “We don’t want to see that anymore in Saskatchewan.”

–With files from 650 CKOM’s Lara Fominoff