9. Conclusions
9.1 Collection and Transport
A nationally or regionally integrated system for the collection and transport of end-of-life tyres to specific storage facilities would provide the level of monitoring and control that, given the literature, appears to be required to manage end-of-life tyres. Such a system is provided in the United Kingdom and the United States, in which there are specific companies that are authorised to collect end-of-life tyres and transport them to authorised tyre storage facilities. An integrated system would also maximise the amount of tyres that could be used in tyre reprocessing operations.
9.2 Tyre Storage and Site Management
The following general conclusions can be drawn regarding suggestions for best practice of tyre storage in New Zealand.
- there appears to be a consistent approach to the design of tyre monofills in the United States, with the typical requirements being there for a sanitary landfill, with an appropriate liner system, a cover, a leachate collection system, stormwater collection system and monitoring system. Such a design is likely to be suitable for use in New Zealand
- tyres stored in a standard monofill would become contaminated by dirt, rendering them unsuitable for use in most reprocessing options, unless a financially viable option were to be developed for cleaning the tyres. It is also likely to be expensive to remove tyres from the monofill while minimising the risk of fire
- there appears to be consistency in the design of temporary tyre storage facilities in the United States, Australia and Asia. Tyre storage facilities in the United States are only allowed to store the number of tyres that they can process within a month (30 days). The standard designs do not include monitoring measures to assess the environmental effects on groundwater or surface water quality. As long term environmental assessments are not available, it would be prudent to install appropriate monitoring measures at temporary tyre storage sites in New Zealand
- tyres temporarily stored in a standard outdoor tyre stockpile facility appear to be suitable for use in most reprocessing options
- financial assurance mechanisms should be used to minimise the financial risks associated with the landowner, facility owner, costs of managing the facility, contamination, future value of end-of-life tyres and any final disposal to landfill.
