On Jan 22, 2019, Renew Energy Limited (REL) lodged a resource consent application with Buller District Council to store 132,000 one-tonne bales of waste on the edge of Reefton township. The waste was to be used to fuel a waste-to-energy plant the company is proposing for Westport.
Reefton residents rallied against the proposal. The business group Reefton Inc. employed a queen’s counsel, 253 people attended a protest meeting a few weeks ago, and 500 signed a petition.
Now, the QC that Reefton Inc. engaged would carry out one final act: write to the Ministry for the Environment to request a moratorium on all waste-to-energy plants and associated dumps, baling, and storage.
