Ōmarunui Landfill will undergo a much-needed expansion with plans for a new dump site. Photo / NZME
Ōmarunui Landfill will undergo a much-needed expansion with plans for a new dump site. Photo / NZME
The largest landfill in Hawke's Bay is set to undergo a $20 million expansion so it can continue taking rubbish for another 30 years.
Ōmarunui Landfill, near Taradale, is jointly owned by Hastings District Council and Napier City Council and services both districts.
The main site where waste is dumpedat the landfill is known as Area D, which at current filling rates will be full by 2025.
Consents have been granted for an extension - effectively a big new pit - to be added to the landfill in a valley known as Area B.
That valley is on the eastern side of the landfill (the Taradale side) and will undergo significant groundworks, including a special lining to stop leachate (contaminated liquid) escaping.
The project site is about 24 hectares in size and is part of the wider 179ha Ōmarunui Landfill.
Ōmarunui Landfill includes four valleys described as areas A, B, C and D.
"Area A has been developed and filled and Area D is the current operational area," the project proposal stated.
"The two valleys yet to be developed are Areas B and C."
Hastings District Council's waste and data services manager, Martin Jarvis, said design work was under way for the expansion.
"Detailed design work is under way, and it is hoped to tender the work and award the first contracts prior to Christmas."
He said over $20 million was budgeted for the project, but "more accurate estimates will be prepared once detailed design work is completed".
The 179-hectare Omarunui Landfill is located about 5 kilometres west of Taradale. Photo / Supplied
Area B is 455 metres away from the nearest home and 775m away from the second-closest home, which gives it more buffer space from homes than the existing Area D, according to the proposal.
The site will be about 770m from the Upokohino Stream, which flows into the Tūtaekurī River.
Discharged treated stormwater will drain into that stream.
A consent decision noted it was "unlikely" that treated stormwater discharged from the site would "have adverse effects on the ecology of Upokohino Stream".
A range of methods to help reduce bad odours from the tip have been included in the consents, including the "tip face" being covered at the end of each working day.
A collection system will also be installed for landfill gases.
The landfill is located about 5 kilometres west of Taradale off Ōmarunui Rd and has been operating since 1988 between Napier and Hastings.
During the 2021/22 financial year, a total of 91,903 tonnes of waste was disposed at the landfill.
That was a 15 per cent drop from the 12 months prior, when 107,792 tonnes was disposed at the site.
"There appears to be no one reason for the decrease, however, charge rates for waste disposal have continued to increase and waste producers are more likely than ever to look at alternatives to landfill," Council papers read.
