Chinese get nod to buy land for dump
Plans for a new Auckland dump have moved closer after Chinese interests dominating the sector in this country got state consent to buy a huge Wellsford farm and forestry site.
Minister for Land Information Eugenie Sage and Associate Minister of Finance David Clark approved Chinese-owned Waste Management NZ’s application to buy 1010ha of freehold land by State Highway 1 north of Auckland for a price that’s been permanently suppressed.
The land is classified as sensitive so Waste Management’s application had to go through official channels.
The company plans the new dump on part of the Mahurangi Forest and Springhill Farm sites. It is buying the land at Dome Valley from Matariki Forests, which is 64 per cent American-owned, and Springhill Estate, which is in Kiwi hands.
Waste Management is the largest operator in NZ’s waste industry, the decision said. “It is acquiring the land for the purpose of developing a landfill to service Auckland City and the Auckland region.
“The landfill will be developed as a replacement facility for the applicant’s existing Redvale landfill which is likely to reach capacity as early as 2026,” the consent said.
Creation and retention of jobs, enhancement of domestic services with the new dump, advancing Auckland Council’s strategies for future urban growth and the development of infrastructure and additional investment for development purposes through building the landfill were benefits cited in the consent approval.
In January, the said Aucklanders each send 144kg a year of household rubbish to landfill — that’s 200,000 tonnes of rubbish across the whole city, every year.
Nearly a tenth of that is made up of items recycled incorrectly, including soft plastic bags, which cannot be processed by council machines. During Christmas and New Year, the amount we chuck away increases by 10 per cent and the number of items we send for recycling grows by 20 per cent.