An eyesore tyre dump in Whanganui may finally go as part of a government plan to eliminate stockpiles of old tyres around the country.
Environment Minister Nick Smith announced on Thursday that the Government will provide a grant of $3.8 million to set up a nationwide tyre collection network.
Dr Smith said the Government has provided the grant for Waste Management New Zealand to set up a nationwide tyre collection network and tyre shredding facilities in Auckland and Christchurch involving capital investment of $6.4 million.
"The shredding machinery will be imported this year, operational in Auckland by the end of 2017 and in Christchurch in 2018," he said.
A stockpile of around 4000 tyres at 77 Brunswick Rd in Whanganui has been causing complaints for a number of years.
"I could have sold it five times over if it wasn't for the tyres," said real estate agent Bob Davies.
"No one has wanted to buy it with the tyres on it because it would cost a lot to get them moved off."
Mr Davies has been trying to sell the property for landowner John Abbott who has resided in Japan since 2013.
When the Chronicle investigated in 2014, the tyres were being collected and stored by Farmcorp business owners Te Rino and Jennifer Rapana.
Horizons Regional Council instructed the couple to stop adding to the tyre collection, and to apply for resource consent to store them long term.
The Rapanas could not be contacted yesterday and Mr Davies said he does not know if they still have an interest in the tyres.
If the tyres become part of the national collection, they will be shredded and possibly delivered to Golden Bay Cement works in Whangarei which is being provided with a government grant of $13.6m towards the $18.1m cost of new equipment to turn tyres in to cement and a fuel substitute for coal.
The Government has also offered $19m in grants to seven smaller tyre waste projects.
Alongside the disposal initiatives, the Government has drafted a proposed National
Environmental Standard for the Outdoor Storage of Tyres.
The proposal can be viewed on the Ministry for the Environment website.