Hornby residents ‘shocked’ their suburb will be home to new organics processing plant

Monday, 11 December 2023

A decision to process Christchurch’s organic waste in Hornby has caught residents by surprise, with many questioning council assurances it will not stink.

Christchurch City Council announced last week that New Zealand-owned company Ecogas would build a fully-enclosed plant in Aruhe Rd in south Hornby.

The council and Ecogas insist there will be no odours associated with the operation, unlike the existing composting plant in Bromley, where offensive smells have terrorised residents for about 14 years.

Greater Hornby Residents’ Association administrator Marc Duff said his phone had been running red hot since the announcement.

“It came as a surprise to all of us. There has been no mention of it being in Hornby. It’s a shock to the community.”

People were sceptical about the assurances that the plant would not smell, Duff said.

“Bromley residents probably got that assurance when that plant went in.”

Depending on where on Aruhe Rd the plant is situated, it could be as little as 300m away from residential properties.

Residents also wanted to know what recourse was available to them if the plant did start to smell, Duff said.

“Will we have to go through the same that Bromley has gone through?”

People were also concerned about the increase in trucks on Hornby roads, many of which were at times already gridlocked.

Some residents had already had to put up with quarries in the ward and residents were tired, he said.

“We’ve had intensification, quarries and now this. How much more can we take?”

Hornby’s city councillor Mark Peters acknowledged there had been concerns in the community since the announcement, but said he believed they would change their minds once they did their homework and realised the new plant was using completely different technology to Bromley.

He admitted he was sceptical to start with and it took some convincing for him to be happy with the plan.

“Consider myself convinced. It’s too good an opportunity to turn up. I’m more than happy to get in behind this and let this amazing technology create fabulous outcomes.

“It’s just an amazing solution to a gnarly problem we have had for too long.”

The facility will use anaerobic digestion technology to convert organic waste into fertiliser, biogas and biofuel.

Peters said he was a staunch defender of Hornby and would be the first one to jump up and down if he was concerned about the plant’s impacts on the area.

He said the fact that a similar plant already operated in Reporoa, near Rotorua, was “very comforting”.

When asked separately what assurances the council and Ecogas could give to Hornby residents that the plant would not emit any odours, both organisations responded with the same statement.

“Ecogas is confident that the design of the facility along with the processes for handling the organic material will contain any odour.”

The new facility, expected to be operational by late 2026, will be enclosed, with no outside storage or processing of materials. The design will feature technology such as a bioscrubber to remove odour, and rapid closing doors.

Both organisations said the kerbside food waste would be processed quickly on arrival, with contamination removed prior to it being pumped into sealed anaerobic digestion tanks. Green waste will be chipped and dried inside prior to quick dispatch to energy customers.

“The fast, enclosed processing of the waste will prevent any odour issues.”

Lynette Ellis, the council’s head of waste, said the new facility was not a composting plant.

She said it used anaerobic digestion technology and a biofuel processing line to convert mixed organics and garden waste into fertiliser and bioenergy, rather than compost.

Ecogas, which is a partnership between Ecostock Supplies Limited and Alexandra-based Pioneer Energy, earlier this year started processing up to 70,000 tonnes of Auckland’s food waste at the new $30m Reporoa facility.

An Ecogas spokesperson said it had not received any complaints about smell coming from that plant.

Neither the council nor Ecogas would say how much the 20-year contract was worth or how much was being spent on the new plant, citing commercial sensitivity.

Ellis said last week that Ecogas was investing in the Hornby plant and the council would pay the gate fee for processing the organics material.

Former council three waters and waste head John Mackie, who left the organisation in 2019, has criticised the council for not consulting the public before making the decision to go with Ecogas.

Ellis said Ecogas was chosen from six long-term options, following a “robust and defendable” procurement process.