‘The fury and the anger’
A fiery public meeting on a proposed industrial plant near an upmarket Blenheim subdivision has left little doubt – residents do not want it near their homes.
Tensions boiled over at the meeting, held at The Elim Centre on Monday night, to discuss a proposal for a pyrolysis plant to be built at the Bluegums Landfill.
The Taylor Pass Rd site is within a kilometre of the nearest property in the council-developed Boulevard Park on Taylor subdivision, and residents are not happy.
‘‘The cynicism of selling sections with one hand, and slipping in this plant with the other is stunning,’’ one man said.
‘‘I’m actually furious, and the fury and the anger that is bubbling up in this room, you must be able to feel it.’’
The company behind the project, Waste Transformation, has partnered with the council to develop the plant to turn chemically-treated vineyard posts into charcoal.
Waste Transformation chief executive Mike Henare tried to assure residents the facility, which would process 3000 tonnes of timber a year, would not affect their health.
Vineyard posts are treated with copper, chromium and arsenic as a preservative, and many residents harboured concerns about the impact of arsenic emissions.
‘‘I think I can speak for everyone in this hall, the main worry is health,’’ Witherlea resident Alan Hall said.
‘‘I’m not convinced there won’t be serious emissions from this plant. I don’t doubt the integrity of the company at all, but it’s in the wrong part of town, the wrong place.
‘‘I’m not a scientist by any means, but my gut instinct tells me this is all wrong.’’
His comments, like many others opposing the proposal, were met with a round of applause and cries of ‘‘hear! hear!’’ from the more than 70-strong crowd.
Henare said there was no direct flame used in the pyrolysis process; instead, the timber was heated indirectly by a diesel burner in an oxygen-free environment.
It was heated to around 350 degrees Celsius, a level Henare said meant the cooper, chromium and the vast majority of the arsenic was retained in the charcoal.
‘‘I think 70 per cent [of the arsenic] stays in the charcoal, another 10 to 15 per cent passes through to the tar, and there’s very little left over that goes into the gas itself,’’ he said.
Waste Transformation operated a much smaller pyrolysis plant in Timaru, that processed about 500 tonnes of timber a year, most of which was untreated.
Henare said Environment Canterbury had conducted extensive monitoring of the site, and the company had always been compliant when it came to emissions.
They had also hired a Christchurch consulting company to conduct emissions modelling for the Blenheim site.
A representative from the consulting company spoke at the public meeting outlining the process, but said she could not disclose the results until the report came out on Friday.
Despite the assurances from Henare and the case put forward by the council – that a pyrolysis plant would deal with the issue of treated vineyard posts – few seemed convinced.
Many were concerned about the arsenic emissions, while others were angry about a perceived lack of information, with one man alleging the council seemed to be acting like the applicant.
‘‘We don’t want [anyone] coming here telling us that we can live with this thing so close to our schools, with our little kids and pregnant mothers,’’ one woman said. ‘‘And council, you really want to get your backsides kicked for even contemplating it going this far. It was hushed up for so long before it got out.’’
However, council solid waste manager Alec McNeil said the council had been clear about its support for the plant through the annual plan process and in the media.
The council was providing $450,000 towards the establishment of the plant, and had guaranteed the company a supply of 3000 tonnes of timber a year.
McNeil said the Bluegums Landfill site, where timber was being stockpiled in anticipation of the plant, was the only site the council had looked at in detail.
It had the advantage of having existing infrastructure such as weighbridges, and was the destination for some 8000 tonnes of timber going into landfill every year.
McNeil and Deputy Mayor Terry Sloan both emphasised the fact the council had two roles in the process, an enabler as well as a regulator and the company would have to secure consent for the plant to go ahead.
Waste Transformation was expected to file for resource consent in late August, a process which would be overseen by an independent commissioner.
When asked if he would be comfortable buying a section in the subdivision, McNeil replied that he had, and that he had faith in the consenting process to determine the application.
‘‘I hear what you’re saying, I understand your concerns, but that will all come out in the consenting process,’’ he said.