Waste to Energy

The recent meeting held by the South Island Resource Recovery Ltd was very informative to a point. Brilliant use of graphics and graphs. But it did lack in detail.

If for example the Waimate District Council grants consent for land use, will this company then begin to store waste on the site prior to the processing plant being built. If so what happens if consent is not given by Environment Canterbury or the consent process is pulled in by the Government? Or even if the company decides it is not economically viable (I believe landfill is still cheaper than a waste to energy proposal). Ratepayers could face the costs to get rid of the stored waste.

Does the company have the right to store waste on consented land freighted in by up to 70 trucks a day? Looking at the trucking situation alone, it is a lot of extra trucks on our roads.

There is an intention to use a storage site by the railway line that means much more use of local roads which the council (therefore the ratepayer) is responsible for.

So this leads on to the question: where are the proposed sites? It is a very enticing proposal to turn waste into energy, but enticing proposals come with a cost. This negates the whole aspect of ‘‘reducing waste’’.

Is this proposal being pushed through before a new Resource Management Act comes into place? Let us leave it there for now, for there will be many more questions arise in the weeks ahead.

John Guthrie

Waimate

Response from Paul Taylor, director of South Island Resource Recovery Ltd: Local people can be assured no waste will be stored on the proposed Project Kea Energy-from-Waste until resource consents are awarded, and the construction of the Energy-fromWaste Plant is well advanced. After this, if SIRRL needs to store any waste on site, it will mostly be wrapped tightly in bales and be far from view or odour range and placed in a specially designed bunker within the main building, at negative pressure, or in a bespoke and totally enclosed building on site. The offshore joint venture partners are providers of the proven technology and expertise, and we are also planning to commence rail transport negotiations to eventually replace at least half of the truck movements. There is no expectation of changes to local rates due to Project Kea.

We’re now focusing on going through the necessary steps in the resource consent process and then we can share further details with the community. We’re reaching out to local iwi and urging local people to participate in the resource consenting process and have their say on the project. That is why we will be asking Environment Canterbury to publicly notify our resource consent application. We’re also updating questions and answers on the Project Kea website as they are raised and will continue to update as questions come through and milestones are completed.