Adele Rose, the Tyrewise’s Implementation Project manager, and the team at Tyrewise are only months away from seeing the roll-out of a nationwide product stewardship scheme for end-of-life tires (ELTs) and they are already planning how to tackle entire cars.

A four-month systems and process trial of Tyrewise was completed at the end of December from Hawke’s Bay and the programme governed by Auto Stewardship New Zealand (ASNZ) is expected to be officially launched in the end of 2023.

The Tyrewise team is working hard with a number of businesses in the North Island on the systems and software trial. Rose says the trial was mainly focused on capturing data through software that tracks ELTs from their collection point all the way through to processing.

A key focus during the first quarter of 2023 is registration. Firstly, registration of participants, particularly those who sell tires. And secondly, registration of interest for those wishing to be involved in the Technical Advisory Groups.

Representatives from the Ministry of Transport and Waka Kotahi are enthusiastic to collaborate with tire importers as they start working together to assess the tire import standards; this is an example of work that will be done through the Technical Advisory Group - Tire Importers. In the next weeks, Tyrewise will transmit information about this review to all tire importers in its database.

So, whether you’re a seller of tires or wish to provide your expertise and industry knowledge to a Technical Advisory Group to continue the good work done by the Tyrewise Working Group, please make sure Tyrewise has your details.

The Technical Advisory Groups are key to the effectiveness of Tyrewise. They provide specialist advice on meeting Key Performance Indicators that will measure the success of its work. Representing each part of the supply chain, the Groups act as a sounding board for the Trustees and Project Managers.

Six Groups are currently proposed:

1. Product and End markets (Processors and Manufacturers)
2. Grants (Market stimulation, R&D)
3. Tire Importers (loose and on vehicles)
4. Tire Transporters (integrated and non-integrated providers)
5. Advanced Stewardship Fee Review Committee
6. Tires outside of scope (incl. bicycles and non-motorised equipment)