Sunday News

Horror on the roads as four die in 24 hours

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A giant waka-shaped factory may soon be a bold new feature on Huntly’s iconic skyline.

The northern Waikato town is known for its power station with its twin smokestack and Deka sign, but the proposed factory would have the added benefit of dealing with New Zealand’s growing waste problem by turning landfill waste into energy.

The bold $650 million plan is the brainchild of Neil Laurenson, a Cambridge-based conceptual designer with a strong interest in waste management.

Called ‘‘Kaitaki’’, the factory would process items FOUR people have died on New Zealand roads in less than 24 hours.

One person died and another was airlifted to hospital when a van rolled on Mount Cook Rd, north of Twizel, about 2.10pm yesterday.

It was the third fatal crash on Canterbury roads in 24 hours after a woman died when her car crashed off a bank on Bossu Rd, Banks Peninsula, about 12pm and man died when his car crashed on the Christchur­ch that could not be recycled, reused, composted or repaired and wouldwork within what Laurenson described as ‘‘the circular economy’’ of waste.

That economy included towns and cities adopting a waste-recycling system similar to Raglan’s highly successful Xtreme Zero Waste, while on an individual level, he wanted barcode scanners in every New Zealand home to help consumers identify which items were recyclable and which were not. Rail and truck networks could be used to transport waste and it could also service waste from the Pacific Islands, he said. Southern Motorway about 9pm on Friday.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand and St John were called to help at the scene of the Banks Peninsula accident, but the woman – who was the sole occupant of the vehicle – died at the scene, a police spokeswoma­n said.

A person in the car travelling behind the victim called in the crash, she said.

One person died and another was critically injured when their

The size of the factory would be dictated by how integrated this circular economy became. The more robust it was, the smaller the plant. As well as turning waste to fuel, there would be a tyre pyrolysis plant to convert old tyres to fuel, and a recycling centre.

Laurenson said the plant would handle all of the waste destined for landfills for most of the country and a large proportion from the Pacific Islands.

‘‘Thiswill create awhole lot of jobs for Huntly, and it will create awhole lot of jobs for a lot of other people.’’

He approached Danish engineerin­g company Ramboll, which constructs waste-to-energy plants and has drawn up a conceptual design of the factory that would be, in his opinion, ‘‘the world’s biggest waka’’. vehicle crashed on Te Puna Rd, near Tauranga, about 4.30am yesterday.

Police were yesterday calling for witnesses to the crash, which fire and emergency northern communicat­ions shift manager Carren Larking said involved a car ending up in a roadside drain.

"We had a one-car motor vehicle accident, a car turned over in a large drain," Larking said.

Four fire crews from Greerton, Tauranga and Te Puke attended the scene.

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