Christchurch landowners left with mountain of rubbish and estimated clean up cost of $3 million – $5 million.

A waste operator who claimed no-one need worry about him going bust has done just that – and left over 10,000 tonnes of illegally stored rubbish for someone else to clean up. Michael Corcoran from ERP Group previously said he was storing the bales, hoping a waste-to-energy plant would get the go-ahead in Waimate. The company had also previously stored waste unlawfully at a location near Belfast on the outskirts of Christchurch; records show that Renew Energy Limited owned the Belfast stored waste, the 40% shareholder of South Island Resource Recovery Limited (SIRRL)

For more on Michael Corcoran and ERP Group see below.