The Tyrewise Working Group has just completed two public consultation sessions following workshops late last year which revealed that industry members wanted more information and further opportunities to give feedback about proposals for ELTs.
The latest sessions, held in Christchurch and Auckland in March, were attended by approximately 50 people from a variety of industries, ranging from the recycling industry, the retail automotive industry and territorial authorities to name a few.
According to Gareth Mentzer, of 3R Group, Project Managers for Tyrewise, those attending said they supported regulatory changes that would declare tyres a priority product under the Waste Minimisation Act (2008) making the scheme mandatory and ensuring full industry participation and regulatory support.
This mandatory approach would also create better security of supply for ELT transporters and processors, which had been a previous concern.
Gareth Mentzer of 3R Group, the Tyrewise Project Managers, says, “When the Tyrewise project was formed a working group comprising eleven industry members came together to take a leadership role in the development of the scheme. Each member had signed a mandate to represent their sector.
“It was recognised that from the broader industry sector, this was the group that had the most influence and opportunity within the end of life tyres (ELT) process to bring about effective change and to ensure that a structure for ELT development within New Zealand was robust.
“One of their key tasks has been, and continues to be, ensuring that the wider industry stakeholder groups (inclusive of ELT tyre collectors, processors and end users) have been able to have their say throughout the process.”
To this end a wide range of opportunities for consultation with stakeholders have been held throughout the project, including workshops, stands and meetings at key industry conferences, presentations at industry association AGM’s, as well as phone calls, emails and personal meetings.
In addition, the Tyrewise website has offered comprehensive details of the overall project, as well as public reports, and gives all stakeholders a chance to submit feedback at any time.
“We have consulted and engaged extensively with all stakeholders to ensure we have tackled the issues head on. The substantial feedback received from interested parties will ensure the final report is as robust as possible,” says Gareth.
The key points from three of the public consultations are available in two reports on the Tyrewise website:
