Old New Zealand tyres will be recycled into fuel that powers the manufacturing of cement.
Waste Management has invested in the technology from the United States, with the help of funding from the Ministry of the Environment, following the purchase of a tyre recycling business last year.
The company’s shredders will be operational in Auckland by October this year, with shredding capacity of 30,000 tonnes per annum (approximately 3 million car tyres) each year. A South Island facility will be operational by early 2018.
Both plants will provide fuel for the manufacture of cement at Golden Bay Cement,
Waste Management Upper North Island general manager Mike McSaveney says the company saw an opportunity to help sort out one of New Zealand’s critical environmental problems.
“By working together with Golden Bay Cement, we are turning waste into energy through the supply of tyre derived fuel.”
Waste Management will use its extensive network to collect end-of-life tyres from across New Zealand, he says.
“Waste Management is New Zealand’s largest waste and environmental services company. With more than 800 trucks and over 70 facilities, we saw an opportunity to improve and invest in a national solution to turn tyre waste into energy, helping to solve the national problem of illegal dumping of tyres.”
