Tyre rules approved

Regulations have now been approved that will change the way New Zealand manages the 6.5 million or so tyres that reach their end of life each year.  

The binding rules for selling and importing tyres, and how they are managed when no longer useable, is the final step that breathes life into their product stewardship.

Mark Gilbert, chairman of Auto Stewardship New Zealand (ASNZ), says the Waste Minimisation (Tyres) Regulations 2023 will reduce the environmental, economic and societal harm posed by end-of-life tyres (ELTs) that would otherwise be dumped, illegally stockpiled or end up in landfill.

A key part of the regulation is replacing the current ad-hoc “environmental” or “disposal” charges people pay. Instead, a tyre stewardship fee will be charged on eligible tyres imported whether loose or attached to a vehicle.

“It’s excellent news to have the regulation published,” says Gilbert, pictured. “It outlines how regulated stewardship will work for the first time in New Zealand, enabling an entire industry to effectively manage its product from import to end-of-life.”

According to Gilbert, it has been more than 10 years since the Tyrewise project began and three years since a declaration of priority product notice, which includes tyres, was published.

The new regulations come into effect from March 2024. It means all participants in the supply chain from the point of import to end of life must be registered and they will have to abide by a code of practice that will be audited by the scheme’s delivery manager. 

“This will reduce the chance of illegal stockpiling and tyre fires, which impact negatively on our communities, and turns a tyre from being wasted into an available resource,” adds Gilbert.

“This is what industry and the ministry have been working towards since the beginning – a regulated scheme that provides a level playing field for stewarding ELTs.”

The replacement stewardship fee, which has been set at $6.65 plus GST for a standard passenger tyre, will be consistent across the country no matter where you live. 

The fee, specified in the regulation by size and type, covers the cost of future stewardship of the tyre on which the fee is paid.

“It shifts the cost burden of managing ELTs from disposal to the point of purchase, allowing Tyrewise to manage them from collection to processing by providing free collection, ensuring tyres end up at registered processors where we can add value.”

Only about 40 per cent of ELTs in New Zealand are currently recycled or used to create new products. Tyrewise has set a target of 80 per cent of tyres processed by the fourth year of operation and more than 90 per cent by the sixth.

It will use part of the stewardship fee to further stimulate domestic markets to make innovative new products from tyres, creating jobs and keeping resources in use for as long as possible as part of a circular economy.

Tyrewise will initially cover all air-filled and solid tyres for use on motorised vehicles for cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, tractors, forklifts, aircraft and off-road vehicles.  

Those for products such as bicycles and non-motorised equipment like prams, as well as coils for retreads, will be brought into the scheme at a later date. Consultation with stakeholders on these “scope two” products is expected late next year.

Tyre importers now have until March 1, 2024, to prepare for the first phase of the regulations to come into effect, with the second phase coming in on September 1, 2024. 

ASNZ is the not-for-profit charitable trust that provides governance for Tyrewise, the accredited product stewardship scheme. For more details on the regulations, visit www.tyrewise.co.nz.