(by Globe and Mail Update) - Plans by Lafarge Canada Inc. to burn scrap tires as an alternative fuel source in its cement plants have attracted protesters wearing gas masks in Nova Scotia and a vocal band of opponents, including Tragically Hip lead singer Gord Downie, in Ontario.

However, the multinational cement company maintains that — under strict controls — the burning of old tires is better for the environment than burning coal, which is still the primary source of fuel in Lafarge’s cement kilns.

Lafarge won support for its position Friday from Nova Scotia’s Resource Recovery Fund Board, a non-profit organization which is responsible for solid-waste management in the province.

“Using scrap tires an as an alternate fuel source provides an environmentally sustainable and responsible way to transform used tires from a waste into a resource,” said Bill Ring, CEO of the Nova Scotia RRFB, which selected the multinational cement firm to collect and process the more than 900,000 scrap tires generated in that province each year.

“Recovering energy from scrap tires will reduce Lafarge’s use of coal as a primary fuel, and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mr. Ring, who added that the company’s plan to use cast-off tires as a supplemental fuel source at its cement plant in Brookfield, N.S. is still subject to approval by the provincial government.

Earlier this month, demonstrators concerned about the possible release of toxins donned gas masks and stood on the steps of the Nova Scotia legislature to protest the plan, drawing assurances from the province’s environment minister that the initiative will not be approved without extensive consultation and study.

Ontario’s ministry of environment approved a similar request from Lafarge last month to use tires as an alternative fuel source at its plant in Bath, near Kingston, Ont.

That proposal drew fire from a consortium of environmental organizations and local property owner Gord Downie, lead singer of the Tragically Hip. Ontario’s environmental review tribunal is now considering their request for permission to appeal the government’s approval of the plan.

The use of “tire-derived fuel,” already an established practice in Europe, is also gaining traction in the United States, where the Environmental Protection Agency has ruled that it does not pose environmental hazards when strict emissions standards are applied. This method also diverts a portion of the more than 290-million tires that are scrapped in the U.S. each year, the EPA says on its website.

Michael Klenk, manager at Lafarge’s Bath, Ont. plant, said Friday that his company, and others, already use scrap tires as an alternative fuel source in Quebec, but the concept is relatively new to the rest of Canada.

“Quebec already does this. New York just approved tires an alternative energy source, California has been doing it for a long time and, in Europe, it’s been a common practice for 20 years,” Mr. Klenk said.

The technology diverts scrap tires from landfills and reduces Lafarge’s reliance on non-renewable resources, he said. The multinational now derives 10.7 per cent of its energy from alternative fuels, including used oils, scrap tires and biomass, the company notes on its website.

Mr. Klenk said the Bath plant would be subject to strict Ontario guidelines with respect to emissions monitoring.

However, opponents say the Ontario government granted approval to Lafarge without holding public hearings under the Environmental Protection Act.

Lawyer Richard Lindgren of the Canadian Environmental Law Association said Friday the request for permission to appeal “represents the last chance for this proposal to be scrutinized in public hearings.”

Local residents are not assured that the technology is environmentally safe, said Mr. Lindren, who is representing Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, an environmental organization with which the Tragically Hip’s Mr. Downie is heavily involved.

“The local clients, of course, are concerned about the potential impact on the environment and local health and safety,” said Mr. Lindgren who added that, because Lafarge would be the first Ontario plant to use tires as a fuel source, the province has no experience in monitoring such facilities.

“It also raises an important policy issue: tires are often recyclable, and it’s better to recycle them than burn them. They are valuable resources,” he said.

Mr. Klenk said it is natural that those unfamiliar with the technology would be concerned, and the company is committed to working with its opponents.

“In every new location, there is a lot of apprehension,” said Mr. Klenk, who previously worked at a Lafarge plant in Pennsylvania, where tires have been used an alternative fuel source for the past 12 years.