How Tyrewise works
Tyres help us every day.
But when they’ve done their job, we need to do ours.
Moving forward together
Tyrewise was created to prevent millions of tyres ending up landfill, being illegally stockpiled or dumped each year, so we can protect the health of both te taiao, our environment, and our hapori, communities.
Tyrewise is Aotearoa’s first regulated product stewardship scheme, which tracks tyres via a network of registered participants, throughout their life cycle, to ensure tyres are recycled and repurposed into other useful products.
What tyres are covered by Tyrewise
The Waste Minimisation (Tyres) regulations cover all pneumatic (air-filled) and solid tyres for use on motorised vehicles, including cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, aircraft, trailers, and off-road vehicles. Tyres for most agricultural machinery are also included.
In this instance, a motor vehicle means a vehicle drawn or propelled by mechanical power, as defined in the Land Transport Act 1998 – Section 2. Importers and sellers of these tyres must register with Tyrewise and act in accordance with the scheme.
Bicycle tyres, tyres for non-motorised equipment such as prams, and pre-cured rubber for retreads will come under Tyrewise in future.
How is Tyrewise funded?
The scheme is funded by the tyre stewardship fees, which are collected by the Ministry for the Environment on all tyres newly imported into the Aotearoa New Zealand market – whether loose or on vehicles.
Funds are passed on to Auto Stewardship New Zealand to operate Tyrewise. They are spent on:
- management of the scheme;
- tyre collection services;
- incentive payments for local processing and tyre-derived product manufacture for the New Zealand market; and
- research and development grants
The Ministry for the Environment retains 0.48% of the fee, which is used to monitor Tyrewise.
How Tyrewise works
Import of tyres
Importers
Pay the tyre stewardship fee on regulated tyres, at import or on first registration of a vehicle.
Pass on fee to retailer or end-of- life tyre generator.
Sale of tyres
Tyre retailers and generators
Tyre fitters and sellers pass on the tyre stewardship fee to the consumer or end user. They retain end-of-life tyres for no charge when they replace them, and book free tyre collections through the Tyrewise software.
End-of-life tyre generators, such as scrap vehicle dealers and fleet owners who change their own tyres can also book collections through the Tyrewise software.
Sellers of newly imported vehicles pass on the fee charged at the time of first registration.
Purchasing and disposal
Consumers
Pay the tyre stewardship fee when purchasing new tyres or a newly imported registered vehicle.
Leave end-of-life tyres with their tyre fitter when replacing them at no cost.
Take up to five tyres at a time to a public collection site at no cost.
Public collection
Public collection sites
Accept end-of-life tyres (up to five at a time) from the public at no charge.
Receive payments from Tyrewise for handling tyres.
Book tyre collections through the Tyrewise software. Tyrewise pays registered transporters for collection.
Transport
Transporters
Registered Tyrewise transporters are paid by Tyrewise to collect tyres from end-of-life generators and collection sites.
Processing
Processors
Tyrewise pays incentives for the conversion of end-of-life tyres into an intermediary product for the domestic market.
Manufacturing
Manufacturers / innovators
Tyrewise may pay incentives for eligible products made using tyre derived products for the domestic market and for tyre derived fuel.
- All participants are registered with Tyrewise and bound by a Code of Practice.
- Payment points may vary for businesses with multiple roles.
Who oversees Tyrewise?
Tyrewise is the only Ministry for the Environment-accredited scheme to manage regulated end-of-life tyres.
It is operated by Auto Stewardship New Zealand, a not-for-profit trust which acts as the Product Stewardship Organisation and has a board of experienced automotive industry trustees.
Tyrewise and Auto Stewardship New Zealand are responsible for publicly reporting on the scheme’s performance. The Ministry for the Environment is responsible for monitoring the scheme.
What's my role?
Each part of the supply chain has its responsibility to steward tyres – from importers who pay the tyre stewardship fee, through to the processors who turn tyres into a useful feedstock for manufacturers.
Industry input
Tyrewise was designed by industry with support from Government. Now the regulation is in effect, the Tyrewise Working Group, which has represented New Zealand tyre and automotive organisations through the phases of design and implementation, has been dissolved. The group has been replaced with Technical Advisory Groups which will provide expert advice to Auto Stewardship New Zealand and the Tyrewise scheme managers.
If you want to lend your expertise, you can register your interest in any of the Groups.
