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Will red tape kill the green saviour of the gold mine’s workers?

A company that is attempting to establish a new-technology tyre recycling plant in Stawell, Victoria, to locally recycle 9 million dumped tyres, is finding the red tape thrown in their way by the Victorian Government and various agencies may be more expensive than building the actual plant itself.
Used Tyre Recycling Company (UTRC) CEO Dr Matthew Starr was forced to write an open letter to residents outlining the difficulties being put in his way.
Following his open letter to Stawell residents advising them of a misinformation campaign regarding UTRC’s attempt at removing the largest tyre stockpile in Australia, Dr Starr is again imploring the Victorian Government to take steps that will see the business start employing many of Stawell Gold Mines’ retrenched workers.
With up to 150 people losing their jobs at the gold mine (announced Tuesday, 13 December), UTRC offers Stawell a chance to employ up to 50 people in early 2017.
“All we request from the government is to waive some of the small regulatory fees that UTRC has been hit with, and provide greater support for our efforts to eliminate Victoria’s number one environmental hazard,” said Dr Starr.
“UTRC is the only new business of size attempting to become operational in Stawell that can employ up to 30 per cent of the newly unemployed.
“UTRC is the best option for the unemployed workers who now face a very unhappy Christmas and New Year, with a bleak outlook for 2017.”
The Stawell tyre stockpile comprises almost 9 million tyres, which UTRC purchased in June 2015 to create a new, environmentally-friendly, clean-tech facility to recycle the tyres.
Dr Starr added: “We intend to support the workers of Stawell for the long term and as UTRC in Stawell has been classified as a Transfer Station for Victoria’s used tyres, we can assure the town that there will be jobs well into the future.”
You can read the open letter, which is being delivered this week, at https://utrc.com.au/open-letter-to-stawell-residents/

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