Wairoa landfill days numbered

Wairoa Landfill is filling up fast and a decision needs to be made on its future. Picture by Wairoa District Council

By Gary Hamilton-Irvine

Wairoa’s dump is filling up fast, which may see the council permanently close the landfill and truck all its rubbish to Napier.

If the plans go ahead, Wairoa’s tip will still service the community, but it will function as a transfer station instead of a landfill. Wairoa Landfill currently receives about 3000 tonnes of rubbish each year and, at current rates, the tip on Fraser St will be full in 2026.

Wairoa District Council owns the dump and is weighing up three options for the future, with one solution being to stop dumping rubbish at the site and instead truck it all to Ōmarunui Landfill, about 125km away near Napier.

The other two options involve developing a new “landfill cell” at the Wairoa dump, which would be more expensive. A business case says the preferred option is to close the tip and transport the rubbish to Ōmarunui.

Ōmarunui Landfill is the largest landfill in Hawke’s Bay and receives about 100,000 tonnes of rubbish each year, as it services both the Napier and Hastings councils.

Wairoa District Council is yet to make a decision but aims to choose the best option by the middle of this year.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said Cyclone Gabrielle last February had resulted in an influx of rubbish being dropped to the landfill, which had sped up the need to make a decision.

He said “it seems incredible”, but the cost of trucking rubbish down State Highway 2 was cheaper than building a new landfill cell.

“Cells are really getting expensive, and of course the carbon (fees) you have to pay out of a landfill are just unbelievable,” he said. “It seems incredible that you can put your stuff on a truck and cart it down to (Napier) and it can be processed (more cheaply).”

He said special trucks would transport the rubbish “a couple” of times each week if the plans went ahead.

The council plans to consult with mana whenua, key industries and the public over the plans.

Hastings District Council is the majority owner of Ōmarunui Landfill and has shown some early support for accepting Wairoa’s rubbish.

During a meeting of its Ōmarunui Refuse Landfill Joint Committee last week, a recommendation was adopted stating the council was “open to the possibility of accepting Wairoa solid waste at the Ōmarunui Landfill on a short-term and/or long-term basis”.

That recommendation is not binding, meaning a more detailed report will need to go before the Hastings and Napier councils for consideration if Wairoa District Council pushes ahead with the plans.

“From a technical viewpoint, Ōmarunui has the capacity to easily accept 3000 (tonnes of rubbish) per annum from Wairoa without impacting the life of the landfill to any great degree,” council papers stated. A big project is currently being undertaken at Ōmarunui Landfill to open a new dumping site, known as Area B. That dumping site will be large enough to take rubbish for another 30 years.

There is also room at Ōmarunui Landfill for further expansion in the long run.

State Highway 2, which would be used to transport rubbish between Wairoa and Napier, was severely damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle last February and remains under repair.