My Account
The Board representatives Tony Edmonds and Kevin Smith emerge from Warkworth Town Hall after Mr Smith presented at the hearings.
Waste to Energy company representatives have renewed their calls to ditch a proposed landfill in the Dome Valley in favour of alternative technologies, which they say are safer and greener.
Managing director of The Board Kevin Smith told commissioners considering a resource consent for a landfill in the Dome Valley that the United States Environmental Protection Agency had concluded that all landfills would eventually leak harmful liquids (leachate) into the environment.
He said liners and leachate collection systems could not be relied upon because they depend on pipes that could crack, collapse or fill with sediment.
Mr Smith said the US and Europe were moving away from landfills and switching to incinerating waste instead.
He acknowledged that early waste-to-energy plants generated lethal carcinogenic emissions and toxic ash that still had to be disposed in landfill.
But he said new technologies have evolved that resolved these problems.
“We now have access to a solution, which will comfortably process all of Auckland’s Municipal Solid Waste and produce zero emissions with the only residue being a harmless ash, which can be safely used as a very effective fertilizer,” he said.
Mr Smith said the technology provided by US Green Infrastructure Solutions could be configured to produce significant amounts of electricity, fuel pellets, construction materials or biodiesel.
“We submit this landfill is not required at all. If there exists such a solution as we have presented here, it would be irresponsible to proceed.”
Later, NZ company Global Olivine renewed the attack on landfill. Director Rhys Davies said Auckland Council aspired to have zero waste by 2040.
He asked why another landfill was being considered with a license to operate 20 years after 2040 without at least discussing other alternatives.
“I ask this committee, has it the authority and the courage to halt this application, confirm its mandate and seek a greater debate as to our future waste goals and aspirations,” he said.
But following the presentation, Mr Davies was pessimistic about the outcome of the hearings.
He said it was clear from commissioners’ comments after he spoke that they did not consider it is within their remit to consider the appropriateness of landfill in NZ, but only if it was appropriate for the Dome Valley site.
“It would appear that there is no forum in Auckland to discuss alternative waste solutions, and so it begs the question of whether the landfill rezoning is really only a matter of process and is effectively approved with possibly some additional requirements,” he said.
