Government tackles tyres

The government is to spend $19 million on a range of initiatives to recycle used tyres. Every year five million used car tyres are generated in New Zealand, 70 per cent of which end up in landfills or dumped or "stockpiled" on private land, with serious environmental impacts including fire risk, and the leaching of contaminants. Environment Minister Nick Smith tells Kathryn Ryan about the plan, the main part of which is to support tyres as fuel for in the manufacture of cement.