Northland Waste manager frustrated by Council

Auckland Council will start to determine the future of the waste transfer station at Lawrie Road, between Warkworth and Snells Beach, this month, but current operator Northland Waste has threatened to pull out of the procurement process.

Northland Waste has run the transfer station on the Council-owned landfill site for almost 20 years.

Managing director Ray Lambert says the facility needs a major upgrade due to increased population growth, but Council has continually rebuffed him.

“We offered to provide full funding for the whole facility,” Mr Lambert says.

“We need a new building and covered drop off area in order to recycle more waste efficiently. The building costs are about twice what they would be on a site that was not used previously as landfill because of the unstable ground.”

Council waste solutions general manager Ian Supple says they will not enter into negotiations with a single provider at this stage, but they will issue a community recycling centre tender document.

“We indicated to Northland Waste that we were looking at a range of options including a community recycling centre,” Mr Supple says.

“We anticipate a lot of interest in the site from community groups and commercial operators. We plan on getting good value for ratepayers as well.”

Community recycling initiatives at transfer stations are an integral part of Council’s waste management programme. Mr Supple says they work with community groups to help divert waste from landfill. He adds that some community partnerships are profitable, but Council does not receive any revenue from the Lawrie Road site.

Mr Lambert says Northland Waste would be happy to work with community initiatives if they were financially viable. He runs both the Wellsford and Lawrie Road transfer stations at no cost to Council and believes they would end up costing ratepayers.

“I would challenge Council to open the books and show the revenue, excluding Government and Council subsidies. They may be able to make a profit on a major metropolitan facility processing 100,000 tonnes of refuse, but not managing 2000 to 3000 tonnes in Warkworth.”

A Northland Waste shareholder owns land adjacent to the Rodney Co-Op Lime Quarry on Sandspit Road. Mr Lambert says they would consider moving their operation there, though only after thorough consultation with the community.

He would also provide a 100-metre green belt between the depot and the surrounding Future Urban zoned land.

Mr Lambert says he is disappointed by Council’s lack of communication, particularly the statement by Mr Supple saying he was not aware of any discussions between Council and Northland Waste as reported in the Mahurangi Matters on December 14.

“We do the best we can for the community, but if Council is creating an uncompetitive environment, then we may not participate in the procurement process. If we are not part of this process, I believe there will be a cost to ratepayers.”