Phoenix & TYREWISE

PARTNERSHIP

What happens to your tyres when they reach the end of the road?

For decades, the answer in New Zealand was: not enough. But that changed in 2024 with the official launch of Tyrewise, Aotearoa’s first regulated product stewardship scheme for tyres.

Designed to track tyres from import to end-of-life recovery, Tyrewise closes the loop on one of our most stubborn waste streams. And Phoenix is proud to be part of the solution.

Tyrewise is proving that with the right infrastructure and partners, even the trickiest waste has a future.

THE END OF THE ROAD
IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Tyrewise is more than just a recycling initiative. It’s a full-system transformation designed to bring traceability, accountability, and genuine circular outcomes to the tyre industry.

“We finally have a system that tracks tyre volumes entering the country and how they are managed once they reach the end of their lives,” says Kiri Speirs, Tyrewise’s Marketing and Communications Manager. “It’s taken more than a decade to get here, and now it’s live.”

Before Tyrewise, end-of-life tyres often became someone else’s problem. Collectors and processors operated with no national oversight, and funding for proper disposal was patchy at best. The result? Stockpiles, fly-tipping, and a growing waste burden on communities.

Tyrewise flips that model on its head. It’s funded upfront through the tyre stewardship fee modelled on $6.65 per Passenger Unit Equivalent (EPU), applied to every newly imported tyre, whether loose or fitted to a vehicle, so disposal is sorted before the tyre even hits the road. That fee funds a national network of approved collectors and processors, enabling tyres to be properly managed through every step of their lifecycle. Processors selling tyre-derived products may receive an incentive from Tyrewise.

For Phoenix and other businesses across the country, that’s a game changer. It's not just cleaning up the system, it’s rebuilding it from the ground up.

Graphic of a car tyre wrapped in a green recycling symbol

FROM COLLECTION
TO CONVERSION

How Phoenix plays its part

Here’s how the system works in practice: Tyre fitters and sellers pass on the stewardship fee to the consumer or end user. They retain end-of-life tyres for no charge when they replace them and book free tyre collections through Tyrewise. Businesses like scrap vehicle dealers and large fleets that handle their own tyre changes can also use the same booking system to arrange collections. Even sellers of newly imported vehicles factor in the fee at first registration, meaning tyre disposal costs are covered long before a tyre ever reaches its end of life.

To date, nine of Phoenix’s yards have signed up to the initiative and more are set to follow. Every tyre collected by Phoenix or other collection partners is logged through Tyrewise’s national tracking platform, which follows its journey from pick-up to processing.

“We know exactly where the tyres came from and where they’re going,” explains Kiri. “That traceability matters, not just for reporting, but for making sure tyres don’t end up dumped or stockpiled.”

Tyrewise’s regulated structure ensures that each step is part of a controlled, auditable system. That means retailers can confidently tell customers their old tyres are being managed responsibly. “This isn’t just about collection anymore,” says Kiri. “It’s about full lifecycle accountability and working to create Kiwi solutions for our end-of-life tyres. And partners like Phoenix help make that possible.”

CLOSING THE LOOP
WITH TYREWISE

Depending on condition and demand, tyres collected under the Tyrewise scheme are directed into a range of end uses. Some become rubber crumb for sports fields and playgrounds. Others support civil construction projects, like road base layers or retaining walls. Some are used as tyre-derived fuel in cement kilns, replacing coal and lowering emissions in the process, while others are used in the construction of mobility access ramps.

It’s a whole-of-life system, one that’s designed to recover value, prevent pollution, and make better use of a resource that was once treated as waste. As Kiri puts it, “We’ve moved from this idea of tyres being a problem to tyres being a resource. That’s a huge shift, and one that’s only possible because of collaboration at every level.”

Phoenix is proud to support that shift, helping turn old tyres into new opportunities.

LAYING THE
GROUNDWORK
FOR WHAT’S NEXT

Tyrewise is proving what nationwide product stewardship can look like in Aotearoa.

The system is live, and the results are already reflecting. Since its launch in 2024, millions of tyres have been collected through a growing network of thousands of registered partners across the country. Public drop-off sites now make it simple for individuals to hand in up to five old tyres too, while a national network of collectors and processors keeps the system running smoothly.

But this is just the start. Tyrewise is aiming for up to 90% of end-of-life tyres to be reused or recycled domestically within its first six years - a huge step up from a 40% baseline. To help reach that goal, the programme plans to roll out funding for innovation and new markets for recovered materials.

As the programme grows, it’s setting the foundation for a truly circular tyre economy where nothing is wasted and everything is accounted for. Phoenix plays a role in that future, helping Tyrewise demonstrate industry leadership and prove that circular practices can work at scale. Tyrewise may be the first regulated product stewardship scheme of its kind in New Zealand, but it won’t be the last.