Passionate Te Awamutu locals voice concerns over waste plant

Tuesday, 1 July 2025

At ninety-something years old, Te Awamutu resident of 70 years Alice Sare said building the waste-to-energy plant would drive people and businesses out of town.

They’ve been fighting against the project for years, and they finally got their chance to air a long list of grievances over a proposed waste-to-energy plant on their back doorsteps.

Week three of a scheduled three week independent hearing into the widely unpopular Paewira waste-to-energy plant in Te Awamutu saw the project’s biggest critics take the stand on Tuesday.

They were not one of many expensive expert witnesses whose evidence has clashed throughout the hearing, but concerned locals trying their best to to have their concerns heard.

Hearing chairman Brian Dwyer, left, and panel member Nicholas Manukau go over submissions at the hearings being held at FMG Stadium in Hamilton.

Global Contracting Solutions’ (GCS) plans to build a waste to energy plant on Racecourse Rd on the edge of town would see it incinerate around 175,000 tonnes of rubbish and recycling waste annually to turn into 15MW of electricity and “divert waste from landfill”.

The more than $200 million project has been described by opponents as a “toxic incinerator” with rubbish being trucked in from outside the district to fuel its boilers.

GCS director Craig Tuhoro Snr took the stand on the first day of hearings two weeks ago where the company revealed it had further plans to increase the size of chimney stacks to 60m, and build three large carbon capture tanks not originally on plans for the site.

Don't Burn Waipa spokesperson Karen Stockmann represented a wide range of Te Awamutu residents, businesses, schools, and community groups opposed to the plant.

He said incinerating waste to generate power would be beneficial to the country, and Te Awamutu, by also generating jobs.

GCS is majority-owned by Tuhoro Snr, a scrap metal businessman who also wanted to burn tyres, and flock (combustible materials left over once recyclables have been stripped out of vehicles and whiteware) at the plant.

Much of the flock would come from a scrap yard in South Auckland owned by Global Metal Solutions, a company also majority owned by Tuhoro Snr.

However, on Tuesday, impassioned locals took the stand at what hearing chairman Brian Dwyer said had been “a very full and interesting hearing”.

The proposed site of the waste-to-energy plant on Racecourse Road in Te Awamutu is within 600m of three schools, borders a residential area, and a Fonterra milk processing plant.

He assured those voicing their concerns the panel had read their more than 1800 individual submissions.

Don’t Burn Waipā spokesperson Karen Stockmann said she represented a wide range of Te Awamutu residents, businesses, schools, and community groups opposed to the plant.

“These aren’t just general complaints just because we don’t like it … these are real concerns from real people protecting our health, our tamariki, and the future of our community.”

She said conflicting reports from experts over air quality issues were a concern and posed “serious long-term risks to our health”.

GCS director Craig Tuhoro Snr applied for resource consent to construct and operate a waste-to-energy plant in Te Awamutu and gave his evidence on the first day of hearings.

“Within just 600m of the site boundary there are approximately 1800 children attending college, kohunga reo, kura and wananga.

“Children don’t stay indoors all day … and with so many trucks on a key route for tamariki coming and going from school … it’s a major safety risk.

“The proposed incinerator is simply not suited to this location, right in the middle of where people live and work, and where there are plans for more housing.”

She said three “high-quality food producers” in the area, including a Fonterra dairy factory and manuka honey producer, could think twice about their situation and could “risk losing hundreds of jobs if they move”.

Stockman was followed by Alice Sare, a 90-plus year old Te Awamutu resident of more than 70 years who said allowing the project to go ahead would show a great deal of “irresponsibility” toward the “environment, soil, and the food chain, farming animals and people”.

She also had concerns over air quality and untested-in-New Zealand technology which could produce high levels of cancer causing dioxins and possible ash fall close to residential areas.

She said the site was also unsuitable for the estimated movements of one truck coming or going every three minutes of every day.

“The location is highly inappropriate and poses a real threat to our town and environment … severely affecting the image of Te Awamutu and pouring hazardous emissions into the air.

“People will leave … there are so many unknowns. To even consider this plant … would be quite frankly irrational and irresponsible.”

The hearing continues.