If you find the good oil, let us know

Dear Peter,

I did go to Christchurch last week. My purpose was really towards the development of another new project there, but I took the opportunity to meet Michael Rynne and Lindsay Halliday at Holcim Cement’s head office in the suburb of Addington.

Michael is Irish, from Dublin originally. I suspect that might have something to do with his candid acceptance of my proposition and gentle ribbing about the possible production of multiple cement paperweights.

We had a great meeting. They were really nice men and we laughed quite a lot together.

Michael drew a diagram on the white board in the meeting room and Lindsay provided certain factual information about how cement is made, temperatures reached, quantities of oil and coal. They said they could definitely help me, they can take the oil, but they need to test it first to see that it is not old transformer oil – which apparently can’t be burned because it emits PCBs. So it needs to be good oil.

Unexpected news was that this year is the last year that Holcim will run their used oil recovery programme. It will probably end in November or December. Michael and Lindsay explained that the reason is because the global price for oil is so high there are other industries now prepared to consider used oil as a viable fuel to run equipment on (boilers for example). Holcim will buy used oil if it is less than, or equal to, the price of coal. Once it becomes higher than the price of coal it has effectively become a ‘‘valueadded’’ waste product that has a competitive market and they can’t, or won’t, compete with the prices other industries are prepared to pay.

To impress this fact upon me, they stated that Holcim used to take 15,000 tonnes of used oil each year. Now it is 1000 tonnes or less.

We then talked about how used car tyres (there are stacks of thousands in the South Island alone) could have been another source of fuel for Holcim’s kilns, but that entrepreneurial businesses were already transforming tyres into flooring products and children’s playgrounds.

So they’re looking for something else now.

They think my oil can be shipped to Westport from Wellington on one of their carrier vessels. It gets pumped into one of six large holding tanks. They can track which tank it goes in and which tank is used for a batch of cement. We all arrived at the conclusion that it could be part of the very last batch of cement fired by used oil in New Zealand.

I still get 390kg of cement product. That’s 9.75 x 40kg bags. Hoping all goes well with you. All my best wishes, MADDIE

Pull your head in

I found the recent media on the potential Taranaki port closure quite, hmm, funny in a disturbing way.

The port, under the control of the Taranaki Regional Council, makes millions of dollars out of the oil and gas industry. The fact that their security (at the security gate, not at sea) was completely lax should not now be put on to the public by way of closing the port and as a means of generating hate towards Greenpeace and activists.

The Noble Discoverer ship should be scrapped and returned to the earth. It has broken down numerous times, come to land overseas after malfunctioning and almost crashed into an offshore rig, which would have killed many people and spilt thousands of litres of oil into the sea. It has now thankfully been stopped after failing several safety requirements in the United States.

We should congratulate those who put their necks on the line for the safety of workers, the environment and all of us who depend on a clean planet.

Pull your head in TRC and let the people use the beach. E. BAILEY Parihaka

Youngsters did well

My son is a Devon Intermediate student and upon entering the school around 2.30pm on the day of the fire and lockdown (Tuesday, Feb 12) I felt a sense of calm. Staff and students were arriving back from St Joseph’s and returning to their respective academies and classrooms. Some students were quiet, others were engaged in conversations or laughing and joking a little. My son’s teacher was clearly and calmly advising her class on some necessary details.

One class from the same academy were settling outside on the field and casually talking among themselves, the situation under control.

After collecting their belongings, the remainder of students, accompanied by their teachers, congregated on the field and waited patiently to go home.

Students should be proud of their behaviour; they acted with maturity, were supportive and co-operated with their teachers. Devon Intermediate staff responded professionally and appropriately as the situation unfolded, therefore minimising student trauma. Every precaution was taken to ensure that our children were safe and that’s all we as parents can ask for.

The comment by 11-year-old Mailina Latavao (‘‘It’s good we won’t have to read any more books’’) would have been said to lighten the mood and, given the opportunity, my son, along with other students, probably would have said exactly the same thing. Don’t be too quick to judge what a child says under the above circumstances. JANENE BAILEY New Plymouth

Core services matter

Shock, horror, so the council has decided to reduce costs by cutting street cleaning.

However, isn’t this a core duty of council? How about removing funding from Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, and especially since it has been revealed by Morris West that funding has truly been supplied for the ‘‘good oil’’ project.

How about the team that are costing the ratepayers to bring about the Len Lye Art Gallery? Cut their funding, surely.

How shocking that junket trips are put before street cleaning.

What do we want – a city that projects pride on cleanliness or a city that prides itself on Len Lye and lavish projects? LILA SMITH New Plymouth