Trash talk: Waipā mayor, council hit out at Te Awamutu waste-to-energy plant proposal
Monday, 23 December 2024
The last thing Te Awamutu people need is “an incineration plant on their doorstep”.
That’s the view of Waipā Mayor Susan O’Regan, speaking after her council formally opposed a proposed waste-to-energy plant in the heartland centre.
The council says it could jeopardise the town’s future, leave it branded “a place where waste is sent to be burnt”, and have food safety implications for the ag-hort sector.
“Our residents, children and our future generations deserve to grow up in a community that is clean, safe, and economically strong - not in the shadow of an industrial waste incinerator,” O’Regan said.
The council was one of about 480 submitters to the board of inquiry that’ll decide late next year whether to allow Global Contracting Solutions Ltd’s proposal for Racecourse Road.
The $200m-plus facility is expected to take about 480 tonnes of refuse a day, burning it to generate steam to turn into electrical power.
Global Contracting Solutions Ltd (GCS) declined to comment until the new year but its consent application said it’s proposing “a major shift” in waste management that could help “create a springboard to further uptake of renewables”.
Criticisms about air discharges were anticipated but the company says it has technology to “strip out pollutants”.
Waipā District Council’s submission, however, said: “Without national guidelines on the development and location of waste to energy facilities, it is not considered appropriate to jeopardise the future of Te Awamutu with this proposed development.”
Their submission also claimed there wasn’t enough information to determine “the actual and potential social, cultural and health effects”.
“No social impact assessment has yet been provided.”
It’d be a 24/7 facility burning refuse including plastics, tyres, car bodies, and industrial waste, the council said.
The potential impact on nearby schools, early childhood centres and sports grounds was also a concern, the council said. The site is next to residentially-zoned land which will be home to about 2000 people, and would bring a near constant stream of heavy traffic.
'Te Awamutu is the heart of our farming economy, surrounded by vital agricultural and horticultural businesses. A heavy industrial waste incinerator next door could threaten their reputation when it comes to food safety, and that’s something we cannot allow,” O’Regan said.
“If the proposed development is approved, Te Awamutu would be immediately re-characterised as a place where waste is sent to be burnt.
“Te Awamutu has always been about a thriving economy based on the land, community, and sustainability. We have an obligation to protect it.”
Te Awamutu is rich in cultural and historical significance, she said, and a heavy industrial facility “disrespects” that.
The area, once home to the great forest Te Nehenehenui, is of great importance to local Māori with the nearby Mangapiko Stream, a tributary of the Waipā River, prized for providing food and travel. Nearby is the site of the Battle of Ōrākau, where Rewi Maniopoto led Māori defenders against British troops.
Waipā is steeped in Māori history, and it’s crucial that we honour this legacy,' said O’Regan.
She wanted further research.
'There is a lack of national standards for this technology and burning waste - especially plastics - produces harmful emissions. We need to fully understand the potential risks before we make such a significant decision.'
She also questioned the long-term environmental effects, saying it didn’t align with greenhouse gas reductions or supporting a circular economy.
Resource consent applications for the plant were initially made to Waipā District Council and Waikato Regional Council, but the councils referred it to the Minister for the Environment, Penny Simmonds, who directed it to a board of inquiry as a proposal of national significance. This means the councils no longer have a regulatory role to play in the decision-making process.
About 480 submissions were made to the board before the closing date on Wednesday. The board has until August 2025 to consider them, hold a hearing and make its decision.
Judge Bryan Dwyer of the Environment Court is chairperson of the board. Joining him are air quality specialist Myles McCauley, and accredited Resource Management Act hearings commissioner Nicholas Manukau (Waikato-Tainui), who has a background in fisheries management and aquaculture.
The submissions are to be published by mid-January, according to Michelle Ward, the Environmental Protection Authority’s general manager for climate, land and oceans.
The board would share the next steps with GCS and submitters in a board minute, she said.
The EPA isn’t involved in the decision-making process but provides administrative support, she said.
Global Contracting Solutions project director Adam Fletcher told the Waikato Times they would issue a statement responding to the council submission in the New Year.