Taranaki waste shipped to Marton
Rubbish will be shipped out of Taranaki to a landfill near Marton, after the region’s three councils voted to send waste to the Bonny Glen Landfill from next year.
A joint statement issued by the New Plymouth, Stratford and South Taranaki councils says shipping waste out will save ratepayers up to $25 million over 35 years.
After a detailed feasibility study, the councils have agreed to suspend further development of the Central Landfill near Eltham which has had an investment of $7.5 million to date. The partially finished facility will be land banked for future use.
A statement from the region’s three mayors says the offer which was made by Bonny Glen landfill operator Midwest Disposals Ltd was “too good to ignore ”.
“It enables the councils to focus on becoming a zero waste region without raising the residential waste disposal costs, as no minimum tonnage is required and we only pay for what we send.”
“The 35-year agreement saves money, reduces risk, delivers long-term certainty and provides real incentive to minimise waste. In comparison, the Central Landfill would need more waste sent to it to keep fixed costs down, which is actually a disincentive to focus on reducing waste. The agreement also allows the councils to exit at any stage if they are unhappy.”
The councils begin taking waste to Bonny Glen in the second half of 2019, around the same time as New Plymouth’s Colson Road Landfill closes.