Waimate

Well over 100 Waimate residents took to the streets to show their disapproval of a proposal to build a rubbish incinerator in the Waimate district. The weekday march, which started at the Basilica carpark and concluded at the Waimate Event Centre, where SIRRL held information-sharing sessions, was a testament to the community’s determination to be heard. With slogans like ‘TRUCK OFF’ and ‘SHIT IN YOUR BACK YARD’, the community’s message was loud and clear.

SIRRL representatives returned to Waimate in March 2023, giving the Why Waste Waimate (WWW) committee and other concerned residents of the Waimate district a long-awaited chance to ask questions of the company behind Project Kea. In an almost three-hour private meeting with SIRRL, WWW asked many questions of the company; some of their responses were quite frankly bizarre. READ MORE

In what some described as an attempt to screen participants, people wanting to attend information-sharing sessions were first required to register and provide the company with their personal details. The requirement has now been removed following complaints from the community. “We asked for names and contact details when people registered so we could follow up with project information, but we appreciate that some people felt uncomfortable providing this information, so we’ve dropped the requirement to register attendance. People can now just turn up at any of the sessions.”—Paul Taylor, SIRRL.  READ MORE

It’s only been 18 months. SIRRL announced plans to return to Waimate for what they are calling information-sharing sessions six months after lodging a resource consent application. However, in an unpopular move, the company requested attendees to register for the sessions by providing the company with their full name and email address. Dr Crispin Langston, one of five Waimate GPs opposing the plant, said the group believed the information sessions must be a “truly open and accessible forum.” “We do not believe that the proposed series of self-contained, essentially private meetings will achieve that goal.”   Langston was concerned the requirement for people to register for the meetings would “inhibit free speech”. “It is well recognised that the best way to genuinely hear a community’s concerns is to have a larger public meeting with questions initially sorted and presented on behalf of the audience, before opening to the floor.” Langston also said a “truly open public meeting” also means that, more specifically, informed participants can follow the answers and help others achieve a better understanding.

Despite withdrawing his support for Bioplant’s proposal to build a pyrolysis plant in Feilding, Andrew Curtis has signed off on two air quality assessment reports for SIRRL’s Waimate incinerator proposal. However, the proposal has faced challenges. The first resource consent application, which included an air quality report provided by Tara Hutchins from Paddle Delamore Partners (PDP) and reviewed by Andrew Curtis, was returned due to a lack of information, including emissions to air. SIRRL lodged a second application that again included a report by PDP, which was also returned due to a lack of information. ECan has assessed the air quality report and stated that the information provided is inconsistent. MORE ON ANDREW CURTIS & PDP

Curtis was confident the plant would not negatively affect the environment. A 2021 report he co-authored, based on Bioplant data and modelling, indicated the plant should not be able to be smelt outside its boundary, and its gas emissions would have no impact on the surrounding area.However, his supplementary report to the commissioners on Monday, having considered additional evidence from Bioplant consultants, found insufficient information and “fundamental errors” in modelling. MORE ON ANDREW CURTIS & PDP

SIRRL’s resource consent application to build a waste incinerator in Glenavy/Waimate included MGI Irrigation’s support letter. However, MGI did not approve the letter used by SIRRL and has subsequently asked for it to be retracted.MGI owns the land adjacent to the site proposed for the Project Kea incinerator. MGI uses the land to carry water for irrigation via an open water ace. SIRRL has stated that they intend to lease the land from MGI and build a rail siding over the irrigation channel, which they say they intend to use to bring waste to the site via rail.Why Waste Waimate believes that building a rail siding on land they do not own is unrealistic. Trucking waste to the site via 78 trucks, which will contribute to road congestion, further deterioration of already failing local roads with a lack of sufficient passing lanes, and excessive CO2 emissions, is not a popular proposal. So, how do you counter that? Tell the community you intend to use rail.Dairy developers in the district also said they would build rail sidings, but it never happened. WWW believes it is not likely to occur with the Project Kea development either and is more likely than not just greenwashing. Read MGI letter here

SIRRL claims that WasteCo will take the metal hydroxide sludge (MHS) produced at the Project Kea plant and treat it through their facility before the toxic material is landfilled. However, the facility they claim they will use to treat the MHS is still in the design phase.  The Project Kea incinerator will produce approximately 1 tonne per day of Metal Hydrogen Sludge (MHS) as a by-product of the plasma furnace process. MHS is a hazardous substance because it contains highly concentrated amounts of very toxic material, including heavy metals.The letter provided by WasteCo, which has been used in SIRRL’s resource consent application, is nothing more than a gentleman’s agreement. WasteCo has not even built the facility the company claims it will use to process the MHS; in fact, at the time the letter was written, WasteCo had not even lodged a resource consent application. Read WasteCo letter here

SIRRL has announced that it has purchased farmland in Glenavy/Waimate for the proposed Project Kea waste incinerator, claiming it as the “perfect location.” But is it? Hundreds of kilometres from the waste source, population base, and infrastructure to support it, why choose productive farmland within a food-producing region in a flood zone to site a vast rubbish incinerator? SIRRL’s resource consent states that 71%of the waste they intend to burn will be sourced from Christchurch. This requires 136 heavy truck and trailer movements each day to bring the waste to Glenavy/Waimate, only to return the resulting ash to be landfilled again. SIRRL said they chose the proposed site because of its proximity to the rail line and state highway, which somehow narrowed it down to Glenavy.  They also stated that they would provide energy to neighbouring industries to offset current coal-fired boiler use. Oceania dairy factory is the only industry near the chosen location. In March 2023, SIRRL was asked if they had any agreement with Oceania; the answer was NO. Learn more about the location and chosen site below. The Location

” NZ is in the middle of a landfill crisis; many of the South Island’s landfills are older, over-packed and failing.” – Paul Taylor, SIRRL director. SIRRL continually uses historic landfills that predate the RMA, like the Fox River tip, to compare against Project Kea. Modern landfills are heavily regulated and engineered to avoid events such as Fox River. A huge waste incinerator will not stop historic landfills from becoming exposed due to future weather events. Comparing the company’s proposal against historic landfilling practices is misleading and dishonest. Burying our residual waste in the ground or burning waste and burying the remaining ash are not sustainable solutions. Waste-to-Energy, often touted as a solution, is a false promise. Like landfilling, W-t-E fails to address the root cause of the problem. It merely offers another convenient disposal method, leading us into a cycle that encourages waste production for the next 35 years. We have more options at our disposal than burn and bury; just because landfilling is unpopular doesn’t mean we should settle for W-t-E.There’s a constant stream of new initiatives in waste collection, sorting, and recycling. Futurepost, a pioneering NZ company, is a shining example. They take non-recyclable soft plastics and transform them into useful products like fence posts and raised garden beds. Futurepost is just one of many resourceful NZ companies leading the charge in sustainable waste management. The practice of burning waste to recover a fraction of the energy used to produce it is not just inefficient, it’s a missed opportunity. Especially when there are companies within NZ that are demonstrating a better way. These companies are using the same waste to produce recyclable products, showing us that there are more effective and sustainable alternatives to waste management. More on Waste here