Over $90,000 Raised for The Sunshine Foundation Through Tire Recycling

Representatives from The Sunshine Foundation, Ontario Tire Stewardship, and Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association celebrate at A&L Auto Recyclers in Comber, Ontario. The 2014 Tire Take Back event raised over $90,000 for The Sunshine Foundation. Photo credit: Trevor Booth.

TORONTO, July 31, 2014 – In May, used tires were collected from garages and yards across Ontario and transformed into something truly extraordinary for children within The Sunshine Foundation of Canada’s network. Between May 26 and May 31, 2014, Ontario residents from across the province dropped off 46,898 tires as part of the fifth annual Tire Take Back event organized by Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) and the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association (OARA). This year’s event raised more than $90,000 for The Sunshine Foundation of Canada, enabling children with life threatening illnesses and severe disabilities to embark on adventures of a lifetime.

Earlier this year, OTS celebrated the exciting milestone of sixty million tires recycled in Ontario. This six-day extravaganza further illustrates how Ontarians are helping to keep tires out of landfills. Sixty registered tire collectors from Thunder Bay to London donated tire collection allowances while OARA contributed an additional $25,000 to further enhance the final collection tally.

“We’re thrilled that Ontarians continue to show such enthusiasm around the Tire Take Back program,” said Andrew Horsman, Executive Director, Ontario Tire Stewardship. “As tire recycling awareness grows, Ontarians have become very engaged in terms of driving sustainability in the province. Everyone plays a role in keeping tires out of landfills, and recycling tires means they can be turned into new high quality recycled tire products for gardens, playgrounds, and patios.”

This year, A&L Auto Recyclers in Comber, Ontario collected more than 13,000 used tires, receiving the prize for highest number of tires collected out of all participating OARA member locations. As a result, A&L will receive $15,000 toward sustainable recycled tire products to be used to revitalize a community space of their choice.

“We’re very proud of our 60 participating OARA members for their commitment to helping The Sunshine Foundation of Canada,” said Steve Fletcher, Executive Director of OARA. “Tire Take Back helps a child fulfill lifelong dreams, encourages Ontarians to recycle their tires, and enables a community to create a greener space. These are the reasons so many our members are eager to participate year over year. We’re looking forward to seeing how the Community Challenge prize of $15,000 will be put to use in the Comber community.”

An official cheque presentation ceremony for The Sunshine Foundation of Canada will take place today at 10 a.m. ET at A&L Auto Recyclers in Comber. Photos from the collection events and cheque ceremony are available upon request.

About The Sunshine Foundation

Sunshine is the only national Canadian charity impacting the lives of children challenged by severe physical disabilities or life-threatening illnesses by making their dreams come true. Dreams allow children to escape from the daily regimen and challenges of living with a severe physical disability or life-threatening illness and provide children with a sense of freedom, empowerment and joy. Sunshine has two programs: Individual Dreams and the DreamLift program. Individual Dreams can range from family trips to customized gifts. A DreamLift is a whirlwind one-day adventure to a Disney theme park for a large group of children. Since its inception in 1987, Sunshine has fulfilled dreams for more than 7,000 children across Canada. For more information, visit www.sunshine.ca. 

About OARA

The Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association represents 130 professional auto recyclers across Ontario who recover and recycle end-of-life vehicles for their parts reuse and materials recycling. For more information, visit www.oara.com. 

About OTS

Established in 2009, Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) is an Industry Funded Organization (IFO) incorporated under Ontario’s Waste Diversion Act, to implement and operate the Used Tires Program.

At OTS, we are transforming the relationship Ontarians have with the lifecycle of their tires, through a comprehensive approach that takes into account our environment, our economy and our quality of life.  Through the Used Tires program, 100 per cent of Ontario tires get efficiently and responsibly recycled into new products, leading to more livable communities and a growing green economy in this province. To date, OTS has helped responsibly recycle more than 60 million tires in Ontario. For more information, visit www.RethinkTires.ca.

For more information, please visit www.RethinkTires.ca and follow us on Twitter: @RethinkTires

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To arrange an interview with a spokesperson from OTS or OARA please contact: