Palmerston North City Council has reported a significant reduction in tyre dumping since the introduction of Tyrewise, the national tyre stewardship scheme in New Zealand.
Reducing Waste
Before the launch of Tyrewise, the Palmerston North City Council received weekly reports of dumped tyres, ranging from single units to incidents involving hundreds of tyres at a time. Twelve months after the Tyrewise launch, the number of dumped tyres declined by 47%, while incidents involving tyre dumping declined by 28%.
Tyrewise, funded through a tyre stewardship fee, has been financing the collection of regulated end-of-life tyres from retailers, fitters and other commercial generators since September 2024. Households can also dispose of up to five tyres at a time free of charge at more than 100 public collection sites nationwide.
However, despite the reported reduction, illegal dumping has not been eliminated. More than 200 tyres were recently discovered dumped at Tapuae Stream and Tapuae Beach in Taranaki, with authorities encouraging the public to report illegal dumping to their local council.
Tyrewise representative Peter Lloyd recently visited the Anamata public collection site on Great Barrier Island, where a recent initiative saw 3 tonnes of tyres recovered from the island, which were transported around 90 kilometres by sea to the mainland for recycling and reuse.
Meanwhile, industry stakeholders are addressing concerns about a reduction in the availability of truck tyre casings for retreading. Since the scheme launch, suitable casings have reportedly been entering end-of-life collection streams rather than being reused. A working group will hold a series of workshops through to May to explore potential solutions, with the support of the Scheme Manager. Tyrewise delivery managers, 3R Group, have also shared insights with the Australian Government as part of its inquiry into the state of Australia’s tyre industry and circular economy progress.
