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A tyre that is no longer capable of performing the function it was originally made for.

Environmentally sound uses for end-of-life tyres are:

1. Recycling into tyre crumb, shred, chips, granules, steel or other tyre components
2. Use as a fuel (other than in direct incineration) or other means to generate energy;
3. Production of tyre derived products including tyre derived fuel
4. Civil engineering (including the civil engineering use of tyre derived products to improve the functioning of landfill sites)

A standardised measure for tyres - one EPU contains as much rubber and other materials as a ‘typical’ passenger tyre.

A Generator produces end-of-life tyres as a result of their operations. A Generator could be a tyre retailer, trucking company, garage or car sales yard that replaces tyres on site. A Generator is not required to take end-of-life tyres from the public other than as a result of providing service to their customers. In this case, they must be prepared to take the used tyres if requested.

An Importer is an organisation which imports air-filled and/or solid tyres into New Zealand either loose or for use on motorised vehicles, bicycles, or non-motorised equipment. This includes coils for retreads. (Bicycle tyres will be part of Tyrewise from 2024.)

Legacy tyres are stockpiled tyres that still have an owner or responsible person.

A Manufacturer is an organisation that receives product derived from end-of-life tyres that have been produced by a processor. The Manufacturer uses this product in the manufacture of further products or in an end use.

The National Environmental Standard for Outdoor Storage of Tyres provide nationally consistent rules for the responsible storage of tyres. The Standards fall under the Resource Management Act.

An Orphan tyre is a tyre that has been abandoned and is deemed to no longer have an owner.

A priority product is a product that the Minister has declared “priority” in accordance with Section 9 of the Waste Minimisation Act 2008. It is a product that causes significant environmental harm when it becomes waste; or there are significant benefits from reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery, or treatment of the product, and it can be managed effectively under a product stewardship programme.  Tyres were declared a priority product in 2020.

Product stewardship describes a ‘cradle to cradle' methodology that helps reduce the environmental impact of manufactured products, where producers or manufacturers, brand owners, importers, retailers, consumers and other parties accept responsibility for the environmental effects of their products – from the time they are produced until the end of their useful life and are recycled or disposed. This is also referred to as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Tyrewise is a regulated product stewardship scheme.

The Product Stewardship Organisation is the entity designated by a producer or producers to act on their behalf to administer a product stewardship programme. Auto Stewardship New Zealand is the Product Stewardship Organisation for Tyrewise.

A Processor recovers rubber, steel, textile and/or other materials from a tyre, and processes it into a form that can be used as an intermediate product in the manufacture of tyre derived products by a Manufacturer.

Regulated product stewardship is when regulations are used to:

• increase circular resource use
• place responsibilities for managing end-of-life products on producers, importers and retailers rather than on communities, councils, neighbourhoods and nature.

In July 2020, the Government announced tyres were to be declared ‘priority products’ for the establishment of regulated product stewardship schemes under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008.

A Transporter collects end-of-life tyres (either whole or part processed) from both Collection Sites and Generators and delivers these to a Processor.

Tyre derived aggregate is a crumbed rubber applied in rubber asphalt for roading applications or as an alternative to sand or gravel in civil engineering applications.

Tyre derived fuel is created from end-of-life tyres. It can be in the form of either whole or shredded tyres.

Tyre derived product is any product produced from rubber, steel, textile or other material recovered from end-of-life tyres.

Previously known as the Advanced Stewardship Fee or Advanced Disposal Fee, this is a fee charged to the originators of tyres imported into the New Zealand market, either as loose tyres or as tyres fitted to vehicles.