A 20 year old tyre mountain on Tenerife is finally to be cleared. It is eight months since the order to clear the dump was issued but there have been barriers in obtaining the correct environmental permits.
Tenerife Tyre Dump to Vanish
The Tenerife Environmental Commission has finally given permission for the construction of the recycling plant that is to deal with in excess of 7,800 tons of used tyres stored at Arico.
The tyres will now be shredded and the waste exported by an authorised handler. The tyres have accumulated over decades and occupy nine hectares in the Arico landfill (Complejo Ambiental).
When, in 2016, the huge waste tyre dump in Seseña, Toledo, on the Spanish mainland, went up in flames and 88,000 of the around 100,000 tons of tyres that had accumulated there were illegally burned, it became clear that there is a significant environmental hazard that had to be eliminated. However, it was not until September 2019 that Gescaneus SL, was finally commissioned to remove the old tyres for 2.1 million euros.
Yet, nothing happened eight months later, because of two bureaucratic hurdles, the environmental impact assessment of the project and the building permit from the local government. One of these hurdles has now been overcome.
A large shredder will be set up for disposal, which will shred the old tyres. These must first be washed to remove dust and sand that has accumulated over more than fifteen years. The plant will be built on a plot of the Cabildos in the industrial area of the Complejo Ambiental. Once the plant is at operational, it will take six months to process the used tyres.