Words by Richard Rennie, Images by Camilla Rutherford and supplied by Neumann's Tyre's.
Unsightly piles of used tyres that occasionally make the news with spectacular and environmentally damaging fires may become a thing of the past once the Tyrewise stewardship programme gets into full swing.
The regulations make being part of the Tyrewise programme a legal requirement for importers, distributors, and retailers of tyres. It comes into play from 1 March, gaining full traction from 1 September
The scheme has been over a decade in the making and was created to develop a means of dealing with the growing problem of New Zealand’s 6.5 million used tyres generated a year. Many end up clogging waterways, or in dangerously stored locations where fire outbreaks are a constant risk.
The programme is based around a tyre stewardship fee, based on a $6.65 excluding GST per equivalent passenger unit (EPU).
An EPU is based on a new standard passenger tyre weighting about 9.5kg and recognises the differences between tyres. For example, a motorbike tyre is .5 of an EPU, while a large truck tyre if 4.2 EPU. The fees are to be clearly disclosed in any invoice, just as GST is.
The scheme is subject to a lead in time between 1 March and 1 September where stewardship fees are collected in advance of the scheme’s operational launch to build up funds.
The fee is for the tyre’s future management, and by September sufficient funds will be in place for the scheme to start regulating and operating, while also building funds to offer incentive payments to processors wanting to develop processing operations to deal with used tyres in a circular manner.
At present only about 40% of end-of-life tyres are recycled in New Zealand, and with support from Tyrewise the extra capacity that exists this is expected to increase to 80% by year four of operation and to 90% by year six.
Ruralco merchant Neumanns Tyres are one of many tyre retailers impacted by the Tyrewise scheme. Emma Hintz of Neumanns has been closely following the development of the Tyrewise programme.
She says it will affect anyone who buys and uses tyres across all types of vehicles, and her business typically deals with many of these, ranging from wheelbarrow tyres through to tyres for large graders and diggers.
“We have already been getting our used tyres collected and ethically disposed of and re-purposed, until now it has not been a legal requirement to do so, but that will change from now on,” she says.
The regulations’ requirement that all participants in the tyre supply chain be registered with Tyrewise and have to abide by a code of practice means the likelihood of illegal stockpiling of tyres will be reduced.
Emma sees the scheme as a programme that will ultimately unlock significant benefits for New Zealand in terms of developing new uses for end-of-life tyres, and reducing the environmental risks such a huge volume of tyres has posed in the past.
“This makes everyone more responsible for the tyres they are buying and using and eventually disposing of. The amount collected from Tyrewise will help develop new uses for old tyres over time.”
Mark Gilbert, the chair of Auto Stewardship New Zealand tasked with overseeing Tyrewise said old tyres are a valuable resource, and the Tyrewise fee will help stimulate the New Zealand market to make innovative new products from tyres.
Overseas uses have included incorporating tyre granules into road surfacing to improve longevity, and extraction of oils from old tyres for industrial use.
For many farmers in Canterbury old tyres are invaluable for helping hold down silage stacks, and Emma says there is no risk they are going to become any less available for that use once Tyrewise kicks off.
“The stewardship fee for recycling the end-of-life tyres has already been paid, and these tyres should always be accessible.”
To learn more about Tyrewise stewardship scheme visit the website: www.tyrewise.co.nz