The agency responsible for tire recycling in Nova Scotia has agreed to let a cement plant in Brookfield use scrap tires for fuel, despite objections from people who live nearby.

Nova Scotia's Resource Recovery Fund Board announced Friday it had picked Lafarge Canada to handle the 900,000 scrap tires in the province each year.

Some Brookfield residents say burning tires at the Lafarge plant will hurt both the environment and their health.
(CBC)

Under the five-year deal, 60 per cent of the tires will be burned at the company's Brookfield facility, while the rest will be sent to a Lafarge kiln in Quebec.

Two other companies wanted to recycle the used tires in Ontario and Quebec, but the board said Lafarge won because its bid was the lowest and the greenest.

The board hired an environmental consultant to study the Lafarge proposal to burn scrap tires instead of coal and concluded the process could be done safely at the Brookfield plant.

But many people who live near the Lafarge plant disagree and say tire burning will lead to pollution and health problems.

One vocal opponent, Jim Harpell, said he's not surprised the board chose Lafarge's plan, but he still has concerns about it.

"My apprehension is because of the age of the plant, age of the kiln, and the research we've got on it indicate there is a hazard in the elements that are emitted," he said.

The Brookfield plant already releases about 75 tonnes of pollution a year, including mercury and dioxins, and Lafarge is not planning to make any improvements to reduce emissions from tire burning.

Lafarge will need approval from the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour before it can start burning tires for fuel, a regulatory process that will take several months.

In Ontario, environmental groups are trying to reverse the provincial government's decision to allow tires to be burned at a Lafarge plant in Bath, near Kingston.

Even if Lafarge's plan for Brookfield is approved, the board said a recycling tax on new tires will stay in place. For the past few years, Nova Scotians have been paying $3 a tire to help cover the cost of recycling and salaries at the board.