New scheme aims to significantly reduce tyre waste
The country’s first national scheme to repurpose tyres begins this year.
What the issue is
Too many tyres end up in landfill, stockpiled or illegally dumped. Communities and councils are often left with the clean-up.
About the new scheme
Under a new product stewardship scheme, called Tyrewise, more end-of-life tyres will be repurposed. Product stewardship is where producers take responsibility for reducing a product’s environmental impact.
Fee on regulated tyres
- From 1 March customers started paying a stewardship fee when buying tyres from retailers. If you buy a newly imported vehicle the fee is included at first registration. The fee varies depending on the type and weight of tyre. It is $6.65 plus GST for a standard passenger car tyre of approximately 9.5kg.
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From 1 September the Tyrewise scheme will be fully operational and there will be no more ad hoc tyre disposal fees which many retailers currently charge.
The fee covers tyre collection and transportation. It also incentivises the processing and manufacturing of end-of-life tyres into new products.
Managing tyres more sustainably
The scheme will help manage tyres more sustainably across the country. Currently only about 40 per cent of the 6.5 million tyres which reach the end of their useful life in Aotearoa each year are repurposed (eg, sold for tyre-derived fuel or recycled).
Tyrewise aims to double the proportion of tyres being repurposed over time. Its target is to have 80 per cent of tyres repurposed by 2028 and over 90 per cent by 2030.