After several failed attempts, the Newfoundland and Labrador government is embarking on a new plan to recycle hundreds of thousands of stockpiled tires.

"We're having our third kick at the cat here," Environment Minister Clyde Jackman said Monday. "We think this time around … we have a solution here."

Environment Minister Clyde Jackman is optimistic that a new proposal to deal with massive stockpiles of used tires will work. (CBC)

More than a million tires have accumulated at depots around the province, creating an environmental problem that has gone without a solution for years.

The FGA Group has signed an agreement-in-principle with the province to make recycled products from tires at depots in Placentia and Bull Arm.

FGA Group will be considering a location in Placentia Bay for the province's centralized depot, Jackman told reporters at a news conference Monday. 

If talks with the company fail, Jackman said, the province will move ahead and recycle the tires on its own at an as-yet unselected location.

Meanwhile, the province will spend about $800,000 to have a massive stockpile of tires in Stephenville, on the island's west coast, shipped to a facility near Quebec City.

Jackman said tires at that location cannot be accommodated under the current proposal because they are already partially shredded.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government requires motorists to turn in their tires for recycling, although no end products have been made from them yet.

Newfoundland Envirotire Shreds pulled out of a recycling program in 2004. Two years earlier, Mount Pearl-based Municipal Recyclers withdrew from a government-sponsored program to recycle tires.

Last year, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper abandoned a proposal to burn the tires for energy.

FGA Group has until October to put deal details, including financing, in place. Jackman said he is optimistic that the company's plans to convert the tires to useful products will work.

The province has been negotiating with the company since at least last February. Jackman said he is willing to be patient.

"If this proves to be what they are saying, I think we'd be leading in the country and in the province. … I think it's a very worthwhile venture, should it come through," Jackman said. "Therefore I was prepared to give them the extra time if need be."