Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) welcomes Ascenso Tyres as the newest contributor to Australia’s Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme (TPSS).

Ascenso manufactures and distributes specialist Off-The-Road (OTR) tires for the agriculture, construction, material handling and forestry sectors.

It will contribute to the Scheme by paying a voluntary levy on every tire imported into Australia. This contribution will accelerate efforts, led by TSA in collaboration with industry and government, to ensure the sustainable management, recycling and productive use of Agricultural and OTR tires that end their life in Australia.

“In the agriculture sector alone, each year, an estimated 37,000 tonnes of OTR tires are consumed, with less than 15% recovered as a valuable resource” says TSA CEO Lina Goodman.

“Ascenso’s contribution will go towards understanding how best to recover those tires as a valuable resource for reuse in innovative ways, such as roads, pavement, sporting fields, agricultural mats and fuel. Developing more end-market solutions such as these will stimulate sustainable resource recovery efforts and reduce stockpiling or on-site burials of OTR tires.

“This is particularly important now as we struggle with disruptions to recovery, due to the global shipping crisis and labour shortages.

“Ascenso’s commitment to mitigate the impact their business has on the environment, not just in the country in which they manufacture, but also in the countries they export to, reflects a responsible, global view that we welcome here in Australia.”

Ascenso Managing Director Yogesh Mahansaria says: “Contributing to Australia’s Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme is a natural extension of our Tread Green philosophy.

“We have a deep respect for the markets in which we operate. This means we not only design high-quality tires purpose-built for the conditions they must operate in, but we also want to give our customers confidence that, by using our tires, they are contributing to sustainable environmental, social and corporate governance practices.

“We look forward to working with TSA and operators all along the supply chain in Australia’s tire recovery circular economy to help it strengthen and fulfil its potential to extend the life cycle of our tires.”

The Ascenso brand is distributed by Australian Tyre Traders, which has over 700 locally-owned, independent tire dealer partners around Australia.

Australian Tyre Traders Managing Director Shane Morrissy says: “As an Australian family-owned business we are delighted to partner with Ascenso and TSA to support Australia’s tire recovery circular economy. Practical decisions like tire choice can now help Australian private and public business reach their own net carbon targets.”

Ascenso takes the number of OTR tire importers voluntarily contributing to the national Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme to seven. They include Bearcat, Bridgestone Mining Solutions, Goodyear, Kal Tire, Michelin and Yokohama.

Goodman concludes: “We applaud the OTR importers backing their commitment to sustainable solutions for used tires by making voluntary contributions.

For more information, please visit TSA's website.