A fee of $5.50 per passenger tyre – far more for larger truck and equipment tyres – brought into New Zealand, is likely to be the outcome of the 18-month long ‘Tyrewise’ exercise.
Seven reports – and industry-wide consultation – later, ‘Tyrewise’ has now issued its ‘final’ report which completes the project stage.
This final report gives a clear overview of the ‘end of life’ (ELT) problem within New Zealand, and the working group’s proposed solution, including guiding principles, costs and benefits, explanation of incentives and proposed timelines.
Key points from the report are:
• In the proposed product stewardship scheme, a ‘Tyrewise Fee’/’advanced disposal deposit of $5.50 per ‘equivalent passenger unit’ (one EPU equals a typical passenger tyre of around 9.5kg) would initially be imposed on all tyres entering New Zealand.
• This fee/deposit would replace the current disposal fees charged by some retailers of between $2.50 and $16.00, and would be expected to reduce over a 10-year period.
• It is proposed that the fee/deposit would be collected by Customs when a loose tyre enters the country, and by the New Zealand Transport Authority when a vehicle is first registered in New Zealand.
• Over the 10-year period, the ‘Tyrewise fee’ costs ($278million) are comparable with the current disposal costs ($237million), but $207 million from the ‘Tyrewise fee’ directly translates into economic benefits for society – including investment in a new ELT recycling industry, increased employment and export opportunities.
• The preferred scenario cost includes both “push and pull” incentives to encourage investment more rapidly than what might occur if the market was left to fund this infrastructure itself.
• The incentives include provision for full subsidy of transport costs via the transport incentive which has been proposed for years 1-3, and will also help to generate demand for products created from ELTs by manufacturers/end users for both existing and new activities, as well as a replacement for currently used raw materials.
To read the full report go to the Tyrewise website (see Milestone 7) or click here.
