Hannah Hammoud
The Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) will require new registration for farmers using waste tyres in silage production to help reduce the risk of fire and the harm to human health and the environment.
The EPA said stockpiled tyres can pose a significant fire risk, and tyre fires are hard to extinguish, emit toxic smoke and can contribute to harm in the environment.
The new registration will mean there is an understanding of a farm’s tyre stocks which will help to mitigate the risk and severity they pose.
Director Permissioning and Development, Con Lolis said that silage production is critical for a healthy agricultural industry.
“The registration strikes the right balance between making sure farmers can feed their stock while also helping to reduce the risk of harm to human health and the environment.
“Farmers, or anyone, using and/or storing 5m3 (about the size of a small skip bin) of waste tyres as weights for silage production, will have until July 1 2023 to apply for a registration.
“We’ve made the process to apply for a registration as easy as possible. It’s free, fast and can even be done on your smart phone.
“By having farmers and others, who use waste tyres for silage production, apply for this free registration, we are all doing our part to ensure waste tyres are correctly stored and managed to help reduce the risk of fire or environmental harm,” Mr Lolis said.
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