Shercom questions timing of directive to remove debris from scrap tires

The president of Saskatoon’s Shercom Industries is raising alarm bells about a recent letter from the Tire Stewardship of Saskatchewan (TSS) to all tire retailers in the province, calling some of the information in it “misinformation.”

Shercom closed its tire processing facility on April 30 after it couldn’t come to a contract agreement with the TSS. Shercom president Shane Olson said California-based Crumb Rubber Manufacturers (CRM) was promised 40 to 100 per cent of all Saskatchewan scrap tires — a market Shercom had dominated for 30 years.

The Saskatoon company now gets all of its scrap tire material from B.C. and Alberta.

650 CKOM/980 CJME has obtained a copy of the letter from the TSS, dated Aug. 8.

In it, TSS executive officer Stevyn Arnt called for all tire retailers in the province to ensure their scrap tire piles are free from debris, including gravel, dirt and metal.

“As of today, all TSS contracted collectors have been advised not to pick up tire piles that are significantly contaminated and contain non-rubber debris,” it read.

According to the letter, the orders were put in place after CRM, which opened a processing facility near Moose Jaw this summer, required that “all scrap tires being fed into their processing system were free of debris, for quality control purposes.”

Olson said it’s an issue Shercom has raised many times in the past, with no help or solution from the TSS.

In an email dated June 9, 2021 from Shercom director of operations Nick Panske to Arnt, Panske mentioned a load of tires had been contaminated with a piece of metal that subsequently damaged a tire-shredding blade. The damage at the time was estimated at $24,930.

“In future, we must be notified of any loads coming from anywhere other than the normal retail locations. This will allow us to segregate those loads and take extra measures in making sure they are free from foreign material,” wrote Panske.

A reply that appeared to be from Arnt stated simply: “Sounds like your issue is with the Collector not TSS.”

Shercom CEO Marlin Stangeland said collectors are contracted by the TSS.

“We’ve been asking for that for a long time and getting no response. Why is it suddenly a concern now?” asked Stangeland.

Olson had harsher words.

“Why is the TSS pandering to the American company and discounted Shercom for years before this?” he wondered.

Value-added scrap tire processing

Both Olson and Stangeland said they also take exception to the second paragraph of the letter written by Arnt.

It read in part: “Scrap tires in the province are now being more highly processed into refined crumb rubber, versus TDA (Tire Derived Aggregate), and the processing component is more affected by contaminated scrap tires.”

Olson said Shercom has been processing tires in Saskatchewan for 30 years, creating a variety of what’s called “tire crumb” — essentially grinding up scrap tires until they resemble crumbs of varying sizes.

He said some of those value-added items include rubber sports and playground surfaces, driveway and landscaping paving stones, parking curbs and ramps, and construction-related products.

“We’re not just making the crumb, we’re turning that crumb into value-added products,” Olson added.

Both Olson and Stangeland also questioned what kind of value-added processing CRM was actually doing in Moose Jaw.

According to several pictures sent to 650 CKOM outside of what appeared to be the CRM property in Moose Jaw, shredded tires can be seen next to semis. Olson said he observed the shredded tires loaded onto semis, then sent eastward, out of the province.

Olson claimed to his knowledge the tires were not being used for value-added products, nor were they at this time being turned into crumb rubber.

“This is the pattern that the TSS has established, and it is well-documented of misinformation (and) misleading,” said Olson.

Several requests have been made by 650 CKOM to contact CRM for an interview, without success.

On July 7, 650 CKOM requested an interview with Arnt, along with a request for contact information for CRM. The following reply was sent.

“I am out of country for next few days and unable to accommodate your request at this time. I will reach out to someone at CRM (who are open and operating and receiving tires in Moose Jaw) to see if they have someone who can speak about their activities in the province,” wrote Arnt.

650 CKOM again reached out to Arnt on Tuesday requesting a telephone interview and was told there would be no comment until the results of a provincial review were released.

Neither Olson nor Stangeland have reached out to the TSS, but both said they made their concerns known to Cam Swan, the former deputy minister to the premier and former deputy environment minister.

Swan, who is conducting the review of scrap tire procurement practices in Saskatchewan, is expected to assess future needs of tire recycling and processing.

He will then make recommendations to the environment minister. The results of the review were expected sometime this summer.

Olson said Shercom has since reached out with its own letter to tire retailers across the province.