The granting of resource consents for a regional landfill at Kate Valley in North Canterbury is a clear signal that it is an environmentally safe site.

Environment Canterbury announced late last month that the panel of four independent Commissioners had granted resource consents for the regional landfill subject to various conditions. The consents were granted after a comprehensive resource consent hearing in Amberley.

Transwaste Canterbury, the company behind the regional landfill project, is a joint-venture between six Canterbury Councils, including the Christchurch City Council, and two national waste companies.

“The applications for consent were the result of several years of technical investigations, consultation and communication,” says Transwaste Chairman Denis O’Rourke. “The applications comprised more than 30 volumes, totalling more than 3000 pages of detailed information. The granting of all of the consents applied for can be taken as an endorsement of the `best practice’ approach that we’ve taken to every aspect of the proposed regional landfill.

“A regional approach towards constructing and operating a comprehensively engineered modern landfill is clearly the most environmentally sound and cost-effective way of dealing with this region’s residual waste disposal needs.”

Mr O’Rourke says the commissioners’ decision will enable the regional approach to proceed. “And it will make sure Canterbury has a safe disposal system that will also work with and support our over-all regional strategy of reducing waste,” Mr O’Rourke says.

“The landfill has been designed to safely accommodate the maximum conceivable volume of waste that Canterbury could produce over 35 years, but with sufficient flexibility to enable early closure in the event of greater waste reduction success than anticipated,” he says. “Our focus as a community must remain on reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

“We’ve had an initial review of the 220-page decision and are very pleased with its comprehensive nature and its clear determinations.

“We are still reviewing the detail of the conditions and how these may influence the proposed construction and operation of the regional landfill. Until we have spent time considering these conditions in detail and taking advice, we can’t make any further comment on that aspect.

“Obviously we are still in a legal process, as the applicant or any of the submitters have the right to appeal the decision to the Environment Court.

“Over all, it’s good news for the region that we have found a safe site for disposal of our residual waste in the interim, while we continue our progress towards reducing the amount of waste we all produce.

“We can go forward now with all of our energy focused on the serious waste-reduction challenge that confronts us all,” Mr O’Rourke says. “I want to thank all those who have taken the time and made the effort to be part of this process, and invite you all to work with your Councils on achieving our community waste reduction targets.”