Tyrewise: 2023 start for New Zealand tyre recycling scheme

New Zealand’s first nationwide regulated product stewardship scheme for recycling used tyres is expected to start operating in 2023. The Tyrewise scheme will address the estimated 6.5 million end-of-life tyres (ELTs) generated within the country each year.

David Parker, New Zealand’s Minister for the Environment, says regulated product stewardship schemes are important for facilitating a 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.”

Moving forward with funding

Implementation of Tyrewise follows a successful application by Auto Stewardship New Zealand Limited’s (ASNZ), the product stewardship organisation that governs the scheme, to the Ministry for the Environment’s ‘Te Pūtea Whakamauru Para’ Waste Minimisation Fund for support amounting to NZ$1.2 million (£621,000).

Mark Gilbert, chair of ASNZ 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 including electronic tracking, audit, and compliance systems from August this year.”

Importers to pay fee

Tyrewise was set up in 2012 as a result of the co-designed product stewardship scheme for ELTs. Regulation is required under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 to ensure the whole industry participation is mandatory. According to Gilbert, the scheme provides a level playing field. “The tyre and vehicle industry has long been in favour of this approach,” he comments.

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 fitted to vehicles not registered for road use. The new stewardship fee is to replace the current ad-hoc fee charged by tyre retailers. Most consumers in New Zealand are already paying a recycling fee when they buy new tyres, however Mark Gilbert points out that this fee isn’t uniform, and consumers have no guarantee their old tyres actually get recycled. He stresses that Tyrewise would end this and ensure tyres are collected and recycled instead of ending up in landfills, roadsides, or illegally dumped. “Recent tyre pile fires are an acute example of the threat ELTs pose to people and the environment, despite them being a valuable commodity.”

According to the ASNZ chair, Tyrewise has set a target of 80 per cent of tyres collected and processed by the fourth year of operation and over 90 per cent by the sixth year. He anticipates that this will also encourage new businesses to enter the market and create new jobs in New Zealand.

Tyrewise is supported by tyre makers Bridgestone and Goodyear Dunlop Tyres as well as Value Tyres, which exclusively distributes Hankook tyre tyres in New Zealand and supplies a range of brands including Laufenn, Atlas, Linglong and Triangle. Other supporters include motor industry and motorist associations.