New Zealand’s first nationwide regulated product stewardship scheme for recycling used tyres is set to begin a four-month trial before fully operating in 2023.
The new scheme, known as Tyrewise, will ensure tyres are collected and recycled instead of ending up in landfills, roadsides, or illegally dumped.
It’s estimated around 6.5 million tyres reach end-of-life each year in New Zealand.
A four-month trial of the scheme will take place in Hawke’s Bay in August to test all aspects of the initiative including electronic tracking, audit, and compliance systems.
Environment minister David Parker says regulated product stewardship schemes are important for our transition to a low-emission, low-waste, circular economy.
“The new scheme is the last piece of the puzzle for tyres, and part of the Government’s wider actions to change the way we manage our resources and reduce waste.
“Once regulations for the scheme are enacted, Tyrewise will run one of the first regulated product stewardship schemes in New Zealand,” David Parker said.
Tyrewise is governed by product stewardship organisation Auto Stewardship New Zealand (ASNZ) which received $1.2 million from the Waste Minimisation Fund
ASNZ chair Mark Gilbert says the funding means Tyrewise can move forward.
“We can now get started on creating the practical building blocks that will enable Tyrewise to begin operation next year.
“It’s been a long road, but we are very pleased to have moved out of the design stage and put our plans into action.
“In particular, the four-month trial in Hawke’s Bay will test all aspects of the scheme design,” Gilbert says.
Tyrewise was set up in 2012 as result of the co-designed product stewardship scheme for end-of-life tyres.
Regulation is required under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 to ensure the whole industry participation is mandatory.
According to Gilbert, there is a level playing field and no free riders. “The tyre and vehicle industry has long been in favour of this approach.”
Once the regulated scheme is up and running, Tyrewise will be funded through an advanced stewardship fee, proposed to be charged to tyre importers by New Zealand Customs and tyres on vehicles at the first point of registration.
Other systems will be in place for tyres on not-road registered vehicles. The new stewardship fee would replace the current ad-hoc fee charged by tyre retailers.
Most consumers are already paying a recycling fee when they buy new tyres. However, the fee isn’t uniform, and consumers have no guarantee their old tyres will actually get recycled, Gilbert says.
Tyrewise would end this and ensure tyres are collected and recycled instead of ending up in landfills or illegally dumped, he says.
“Recent tyre pile fires are an acute example of the threat [end-of-life tyres] pose to people and the environment, despite them being a valuable commodity.”
Tyrewise has set a target of 80% of tyres collected and processed by the fourth year of operation and over 90% by the sixth year.
It’s hoped this will also encourage new businesses to enter the market and create new jobs.
