Bridgestone has signed a breakthrough agreement to collect and recycle waste tyres from its stores throughout the North Island of New Zealand.
The agreement with Pacific Rubber covers all of Bridgestone’s 60 retail and commercial company-owned outlets across the North Island.
Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand Managing Director Andrew Moffatt said the company was “committed to leading the way” in the management of waste tyres in New Zealand.
“Unlike other jurisdictions in which we operate, the industry in New Zealand is self-regulated in terms of the way it deals with waste tyres. There is no legislated system for waste tyre collection and recycling,” Mr Moffatt said.
“That’s why we have taken a leadership position on this issue.”
“Bridgestone has a global commitment to continually work to lower our impact on the environment, and waste tyres are a critical part of that approach.”
“This agreement with Pacific Rubber is an important first step towards a truly integrated approach to collecting and recycling end of life tyres.”
Pacific Rubber operates a major depot in Waikato and a tyre recycling facility in Auckland, from which it produces rubber crumb and buffing products used in civil construction, synthetic sport fields, landscaping, mats, non-slip pavements, adhesives and resins.
However, there is currently no such collection and recycling service for Bridgestone’s 14 outlets operating in the South Island.
“Our intention is that we would like to replicate this arrangement in the South Island,” Mr Moffatt said.
“We will continue to work with Government and our business partners to find an environmentally sound solution in that part of the country.”
Bridgestone is a signatory to Tyrewise, which is an industry-led initiative to responsibly deal with waste tyres. Tyrewise estimates that around 3.9 million passenger tyres and 1.2 million truck and other tyres reach their end of life in New Zealand every year.
Source: Bridgestone NZ
