New Zealand’s first national tyre recycling scheme, Tyrewise, has surpassed its targets for tyres collected and processed in its first few months of operation.
Tyrewise published a report covering September – December 2024, detailing 21,100 tonnes of tyres collected, 7700 tonnes used in tyre-derived fuel and products, and 7000 tonnes of this used in manufacture.
This exceeds the target of 8000 tonnes of tyres collected, 5000 tonnes used for tyre-derived fuel and products, and 5000 tonnes for use in manufacture.
“We’re thrilled with these numbers,” says Auto Stewardship New Zealand (ASNZ) trustee and chair Mark Gilbert.
“They show how well a regulated product stewardship scheme, led by industry, can work to deal with a big waste issue,” he says.
Tyrewise is New Zealand’s first regulated product stewardship scheme covering end-of-life tyres. It operates a nationwide collection and recycling system, funded through a Tyre Stewardship Fee which is charged on all new tyres sold in the New Zealand market.
Adele Rose, the chief executive of Tyrewise scheme delivery managers, 3R Group, says the initiative saw rapid, widespread uptake by industry members with 5300 users of the Tyrewise collection booking and verification app.
This included thousands of tyre retailers and fitters, and hundreds of vehicle sellers, fleet owners/operators, tyre importers, scrap vehicle dealers, and collection sites.
Transporters registered with Tyrewise mean there is a widespread and reliable network, with each region being serviced by two to six transporters as well as their subcontractors.
“This made free tyre collections a reality for many businesses which previously did not access a collection service or chose to send tyres to landfill,” Rose says.
Ensuring access to free tyre drop-offs for members of the public is another focus for Tyrewise, with 77 sites established across eight regions in the September to December period, she says.
“This network, which continues to expand, means members of the public can dispose of up to five tyres for free for recycling.”
The positive effect is already being noted. Palmerston North City Council reported a “huge drop” in the number of illegally dumped tyres.
Rose says the focus going forward is growing domestic end markets for the rubber recovered from the collected tyres.
“We’re very pleased with the performance of the scheme so far. The evidential data which is being produced from the Tyrewise app will guide the development of domestic end markets.
“Our focus for the next quarter is on developing a market growth and investment strategy to expand the domestic market to a robust national network.”
The scheme’s goal is that 80% of collected tyres will be processed in New Zealand and the rubber sold into the domestic market by its fourth year of operation.
