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Pearkes arena gets a makeover – with old tires

Tire Stewardship B.C. program offsets cost of new rubber floor mats for skating rink

Tires that once traveled along the road are now being tread upon as recycled floor mats in the Gold rink of George Pearkes arena.

Skaters making their way to the Gold rink will will notice the upgraded rubber mat flooring in the Gold dressing rooms and along the halls and walkways to the ice.

Rubber is used in ice rinks to cushion the sharp skate blades.

The rubber flooring is also being installed around the perimeter of Gold rink, where referees and other users access the ice.

The matting made of recycled tires came with a $30,000 grant to Saanich from the Tire Stewardship B.C. program and TSBC Community Grant Program, enough to cover 40 per cent of the $85,000 total.

"The old flooring was becoming a safety concern as corners and seams were lifting creating potential trip

hazards for skaters in particular," said Pearkes facility manager Steve Meikle. "With the support of

the Tire Stewardship program we have been able to upgrade the facility while paying paying attention to sustainability

in terms of recycling and reusing old tires.”

The flooring is constructed of rubber tiling made from B.C. recycled rubber, keeping 10,683 pounds of scrap tire rubber out of BC’s landfills. In 2013 the Community Grant Program kept 1.3 million pounds of rubber out of landfills by contributing more than $800,000 towards projects such as Pearkes. The tire-recycling program started in 1991 and has recycled 65 million vehicle tires since.

reporter@saanichnews.com