Tyre project punctured

The Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (IMVIA) is disappointed with today’s announcement by the government that it has decided to not proceed with the declaration of tyres as a “priority product” under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008. The decision comes after an industry-wide working group researched and prepared a report and consensus recommendation at the direct request of Minister Nick Smith. The key issue was and remains the market failure in the collection and disposal of end-of-life tyres (ELTs), and flies in the face of recent news items about the stockpiles and consequent risks as examples. The IMVIA says the declaration of tyres as a priority product would have been the first step towards realising a responsible product stewardship and mitigating the environmental effects of ELTs. “The decision was announced at today’s Tyrewise Industry Summit in Auckland, which is being attended by about 80 people from the industry and for which speakers from overseas have flown in for,” David Vinsen, chief executive of the IMVIA, told Autofile Online. “A government official told the conference that ELTs will not be given priority product status and no work on a stewardship scheme will be progressed this year. “To describe this outcome, after all of the work interested parties have put into this project, as a disappointment and an embarrassment to the industry and this country would be an understatement. People who have been involved in this scheme are furious.”