Following on from the announcement of funding for the development of an End of Life Tyre product stewardship programme in March, the Tyrewise project has now passed its second milestone.
There are seven milestones tracking project progress, starting with obtaining mandates from working group parties and setting up the information portal tyrewisemicrosite.staging.mysites.io, through the in-depth consultation process, and finally to advising MfE on the working group’s preferred product stewardship option and implementation of the programme.
Milestone One, covering the website, mandates and publication of the Stakeholder Consultation Plan, and Milestone Two, which included investigating the current situation regarding used tyres and their collection and disposal and publication of the first scoping report, are now completed. Outcomes from both milestones are available on the website.
Fundamental to the project are the continued opportunities for industry to have their say in the development of the programme. In addition to the working group meetings, the first of which took place in late April, a series of consultation meetings at industry events will be held throughout the 12 month project.
One of these opportunities was the recent WasteMINZ Mid-Year Roundup in Hastings in early May which saw the Tyrewise team present to attendees. A stand was also manned during the two day workshop allowing industry stakeholders and local government representatives to discuss the project in detail.
Marty Hoffart, a waste minimisation consultant with an interest in product stewardship and many years experience working with those in the tyre industry said that a process for recovery of tyres from the waste stream has been lagging behind.
“It’s a process that is long overdue given that other countries like Canada have been doing this for over 20 years.”
Marty attended the WasteMINZ conference and took the opportunity to have a good talk with the team from 3R Group who are managing the Tyrewise project.
“It’s great to see the project get promoted at WasteMINZ and other events like the Scrap Metal Recyclers Association convention in July. It really demonstrates to stakeholders that the problem is being taken seriously and that there are viable opportunities for ELTs.
“Between the various events the team are attending and the stakeholder feedback form, there’s a great opportunity to give an opinion on what is and isn’t happening and really have your say,” says Marty.
Have your say!
If you are involved in tyre distribution, reuse or disposal in New Zealand, have your say in this exciting project. Check out how to get involved or freephone 0800 TYREWISE (0800 897 394) to speak to the Tyrewise team.
Tyrewise is industry supported and has received partial funding from the Waste Minimisation Fund, which is administered by the Ministry for the Environment.
