Industry experts are angry with a government decision to not give tyres special status, which in turn has scuppered plans to roll out a recycling scheme.
The news was announced at the inaugural Tyre Industry Summit held in Auckland from June 2-3 to the dismay of delegates and high-profile guest speakers from overseas.
A product stewardship scheme for end-of-life tyres (ELTs) was lodged with the government almost two years ago by the Tyrewise Working Group, which was formed under the auspices of the 3R Group.
The project was started in March 2012 thanks to a Ministry for the Environment (MfE) grant from the Waste Minimisation Fund with the aim of enabling the industry to deliver a national approach to the responsible disposal of old tyres.
