Industry support for tyres project
The Motor Trade Association (MTA) says a product stewardship scheme for end-of-life tyres (ELTs) has been a long time coming, but will address an important environmental issue.
The Tyrewise programme aims to deliver a “positive environmental outcome” for most of the estimated 6.5 million ELTs New Zealand produces each year.
Greig Epps, the MTA’s advocacy and strategy manager, says: “The tyre and vehicle industries have long been in favour of a regulated approach.
“Tyrewise will provide our members with a certain and convenient process for the collection of ELTs, with the comfort of knowing that the tyres will be properly recycled.
“As many of our members will have an important role to play in this scheme, we stand ready to assist with its successful implementation.”
Adele Rose, pictured, is the chief executive of the 3R Group, Tyrewise’s implementation project manager.
“Tyrewise will begin operating in 2023 as the country’s first regulated product stewardship scheme,” she says.
“We are now putting our plans into action, including a four-month trial in Hawke’s Bay beginning in August this year. We’re also requesting all members of the supply chain to register with us.
“It has been a long journey to get to this point – some 10 years. But achieving a robust scheme, which has wide stakeholder buy-in, will achieve its goals and is worth the effort.
“We’ve taken on something of a trailblazing role, which will hopefully make it easier for other schemes to follow. I, for one, am proud of how resilient our team, and the industry and those at the Ministry for the Environment who supported the work for as many years, have been.”
Participants in the Tyrewise scheme – that’s tyre and vehicle importers, generators, retailers, transporters, processors, collection points and manufacturers – need to be registered.
The registration process will be done online when the new Tyrewise software is ready. In the meantime, forms have been created that outline the information needed. These should only be used as guide for now and do not need to be completed at this stage. Any questions about the scheme can be emailed to Trevor Tutt at trevor@3r.co.nz.
