The company behind a waste-to-energy plant in Waimate wants to stockpile 45,000 tonnes of baled waste on-site, 100,000 litres of diesel, numerous hazardous substances stored in bulk, and an internal rubbish bunker with a further 7,000-tonne capacity. Just one rogue vape battery and you have a recipe for a huge disaster.
South Island Resource Recovery Limited (SIRRL) are a 60% Chinese-owned company. The remaining 40% is owned by NZ company Renew Energy Limited (REL)
REL has been responsible for two previous proposals on the West Coast of the South Island. Both of these proposals also included The same Chinese-owned company, China Tianying (CNTY)
When mooting the Westport proposal, REL lodged a resource consent application to store 132,000 tonnes of baled waste in Reefton. The stockpiled waste would be used to fuel a waste-to-energy plant. The Reefton residents rallied against the proposal and hired a QC to fight it, with REL subsequently backing down.
The residents feared that the company might never gain resource consent for the plant and could walk away, leaving behind a huge pile of rubbish.
REL's History Of Illegally Stockpiling Waste.
REL and SIRRL director Paul Taylor sent heads of agreement to the Timaru District Council to attempt to stockpile 50-70,000 bales of waste at the Redruth landfill to fuel the Waimate W-t-E plant.
There have also been several other instances in and around Christchurch where REL and a company called ERP Group illegally stored waste in an attempt to stockpile waste for the proposed Waimate incinerator.
This resulted in ERP Group being placed into liquidation and walking away, leaving its landlords with 10,000 tonnes of baled waste. The waste eventually caught fire before being trucked away and landfilled. The cleanup was estimated to cost several million, falling on the landowners.
This highlights two major concerns held by the Reefton residents;
The potential for a catastrophic fire is a major concern. SIRRL is proposing to store 45,000 tonnes of waste on-site for Project Kea. Waimate lacks the resources to extinguish a fire of this magnitude. When you factor in the 100,000 litres of Diesel and the substantial quantities of hazardous substances stored on site, the risk of a significant disaster becomes all too real. If the company proceeds with waste stockpiling and the plant is never commissioned or fully completed, or if the company is forced to shut down for any reason, the financial burden of the cleanup will fall on the community. SIRRL’s resource consent application states that REL will be responsible for supplying waste for Project Kea. REL’s history of storing waste illegally in Belfast, North Canterbury, speaks for itself.