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The operation of two waste transfer stations came under scrutiny at a meeting in Snells Beach this month. In a surprised decision in August, Auckland Council announced that both the Lawrie Road and Rustybrook Road transfer stations would be closed immediately for remediation work.
Following huge opposition from residents and the Rodney Local Board, Council backed down and promised to keep the stations open until next June. Council officials attempted to address residents’ concerns at a Snells Beach Residents and Ratepayers Association meeting on November 12.
Those that attended were Environment and Community Committee chair Penny Hulse, waste solutions manager Parul Sood and senior waste planning specialist Jenny Chilcott. Cr Hulse acknowledged Council had let the community down.
“I will be upfront and admit we could have done communication better,” Cr Hulse said. “Our first responsibility is keeping people safe, though, so this remediation work does need to be done.”
One audience member asked what the specific reasons for closure were.
“We need to make sure the piping below ground is still working to avoid issues like water contamination and examine methane gas levels on site. This can cause explosions that have killed people in the past,” she said.
About two years of remediation work is set to start in June.
Ms Sood said an interim site would be provided, but was unable to confirm whether this would be part of the existing transfer station or in a new location. The required works also mean that the tender process to manage the Lawrie Road Station, previously underway with four interested parties, has been scrapped.
The process will start from scratch for both an interim and long-term tenant, but when this will happen is unknown. Ms Sood said that it will be easy to reapply for those who had already started the initial process and that starting fresh would have minimal economic impact.
Northland Waste director Ray Lambert, who attended the meeting, wasn’t convinced that the area had its waste plan sorted.
“I don’t know if any assurances were given to people, I certainly didn’t feel there was,” Mr Lambert said.
A number of people showed their support for Northland Waste during the evening, with concerns that the Council tender process would push costs up.
Former Rodney councillor Penny Webster said that the issues at the site were brought up three years ago, but no action was taken then.
Cr Hulse said the meeting was mostly what she expected, but felt more education around Council’s relationship with the waste operation was needed.
“I actually thought people would be much angrier, so I can certainly understand their frustration at the moment,” Cr Hulse said. “They were well informed, but I think we could do more to explain clearly the relationship between Council and Northland Waste in this operation.”
