Last updated 14 December 2018
The following questions are the common questions that have been asked either at our Open Days or through our website. If you have a question, please email us at arl@wastemanagement.co.nz or visit us at our next open days. Click here for dates and details.
1. Why is a new landfill required in Auckland? – isn't there an aspiration for zero waste by 2040?
The Auckland Council area currently contains two operating landfill facilities for waste disposal – Redvale Landfill and Energy Park in the north and Whitford Landfill in the south-east. These landfills are already partially full and they have a limited lifespan.
Auckland Council’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan projects that the region's waste will grow through to 2060. Auckland will need an environmentally safe and secure site for disposal of this waste. The proposed landfill, if approved, is designed to meet this need.
2. Why does a new landfill have to be located in Auckland – can’t we put it far away from residents?
A large part of the consideration for the location of a landfill is the transport of this waste from where it is created to the landfill itself. Transporting waste vast distances is both uneconomic and environmentally irresponsible due to the financial cost and the carbon impact. Waste Management's proposed site location has been identified as it is far enough away from neighbours to manage impacts as much as possible, yet close enough to Auckland to reduce the transport impacts.
3. Has Waste Management considered transporting the waste by rail?
At present, we are proposing transport of the waste by road to the proposed site. Waste by rail may be considered in the future.
4. Aren’t there new better technologies Waste Management could be exploring to deal with waste? Aren’t landfills old technology?
Waste Management’s current facility at Redvale is a $200 million investment in clean-tech sustainable waste management. Redvale Landfill and Energy Park has no open mounds. The waste material is contained in the landfill and naturally produces methane gas. This gas is captured by a network of hybrid wells inside the landfill, and is used to generate enough electricity to power 12,000 homes in Auckland. By the end of the year, this will increase to 14,000 homes. That makes Waste Management the largest renewable energy producer in Auckland.
This gas capture technology has the added benefit of capturing more than 95% of the methane gas, stopping it from entering the atmosphere.
Redvale sets the industry standard in the use of environmentally sustainable practices. We’ve won major environmental awards and attracted interest from engineers and practitioners all over the world.
5. Has Waste Management considered incineration as an option instead of landfill?
Like Australia and the US, landfills have been the preferred method for waste disposal in New Zealand.
Incineration is a chosen method of disposal used in parts of Europe, due to a number of factors. This includes the larger, more densely populations in Europe, who generate the large volumes of waste in concentrated towns and cities that are required to continuously feed an incinerator.
The incinerators are generally built close to the towns and cities creating the waste. These same towns and cities are reliant on the electricity generated from the incinerator. In New Zealand, we don't have these large densely populated cities and towns. We also have plenty of sustainable electricity generation through geothermal and hydroelectricity.
Incinerators also still have a waste stream (ash), which is generally taken to landfill.
Finally, one of the negatives of waste incineration is the continuous long-term need for more waste to keep the incinerator plant working. This goes against the aspirations we have here in New Zealand for zero waste.
6. Will the proposed landfill use the same lining system as the one at Redvale? Does Redvale have leaks in the liner?
The proposed Auckland Regional Landfill will be designed and constructed using a typical lining system and consented under the Resource Management Act (RMA).
The lining system proposed for the Auckland Regional Landfill will be designed and constructed to meet the requirements of the specific geological characteristics of the location and will therefore be different to Redvale and other landfills. It must meet the requirements of the RMA.
Redvale Landfill and Energy Park does not have leaks in the liner and all leachate is contained, extracted and treated on site.
7. Will leachate from the site end up in the Kaipara Harbour?
The waste from the landfill will be fully contained by a purpose designed and constructed landfill lining system. The lining system protects the surrounding environment from contamination from leachate as well as controls the entrance of groundwater.
The leachate is collected in pipes, then extracted from the landfill and treated. No leachate will be discharged into streams.
The selected lining system is physically designed to provide containment for hundreds of years after the landfill stops receiving waste, by which time leachate is not being created, and no longer poses a risk to the environment.
8. Could this affect fish stocks on the West Coast or the Wellsford town water?
Best practice stormwater management techniques will be designed and constructed for the landfill to mitigate potential environmental effects on the surrounding environment.
Any clean stormwater upstream of the landfill will be diverted around the waste.
Downstream of the landfill there will be a series of stormwater management ponds (dams) and wetlands. These will be designed to remove sediment before it is filtered by wetlands and released to streams onsite and eventually into the Hoteo River (approximately 3km away from the end of the landfill).
We will constantly monitor the quality and volumes of stormwater and will be required to report regularly to Auckland Council.
The area covered by the proposed landfill footprint will be less than 0.25% of the catchment for the Hoteo River.
9. Why isn't Waste Management protecting oxygen creating areas rather than cutting down trees?
We will be replacing any pine trees that need to be harvested for the proposed landfill as well as planting additional trees. An area of 100ha has been set aside for off-set re-planting of pine trees.
We will also protect significant areas of indigenous vegetation and fauna with a covenant to protect them into the future. In addition, riparian planting and fencing will be undertaken to stop stock entering the Hoteo River where we have a boundary on the river.
10. What are your proposed plans for the Springhill property?
We have not determined what our exact plans are for the Springhill Estate, but there will be no waste placed on the Springhill property.
11. At the public Open Days some points were not shown on the map. Why?
The purpose of the Open Days is to make initial contact with the public and to listen to their and feedback about the proposed landfill. This feedback will be addressed in further detail as the proposal progresses.
The map that was displayed at the first two Open Days was designed to illustrate significant aspects of the proposed landfill. Key surrounding features such as the Hoteo River, State Highway 1, the closest towns of Warkworth and Wellsford were included as local landmarks that would be familiar reference points to the local community.
There was feedback after the first Open Days that the map should have included all waterways and streams. We will provide another map at the next Open Days. For details about the upcoming Open Days click here.
12. Will the public be able to have their say on the consent application? Will it be publically notified?
Auckland Council normally decides whether or not to notify a resource consent application.
For this project, Waste Management have asked that Auckland Council publically notify the consent application. We know this project is an important and significant part of the region’s future infrastructure and that many people will be interested to provide comment.
Being a publically notified process will mean that anyone is able to obtain a copy of the consent application that we lodge, make a submission and be heard during the consent hearing.
We are expecting to lodge our consent application early in 2019.
13. How does the resource consent process work?
The diagram below from The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) illustrates the process Auckland Council will follow when people or businesses apply for a resource consent. For this project, Waste Management has already asked that our application is publically notified, so Auckland Council will not have to make that decision.
To learn more about the process, there is a section on MfE’s website called An everyday guide: Applying for a resource consent here.