A concept drawing of what the planned waste-to-energy plant in Te Awamutu could look like. Image / Supplied
A concept drawing of what the planned waste-to-energy plant in Te Awamutu could look like. Image / Supplied
The news of a proposal for a plant that would burn rubbish to create electricity in Te Awamutu has sparked a heated debate among the community and environmental groups.
The Waikato Herald reported last Friday that Hamilton-based company Global Contracting Solutions' application made to Waipa District Council in December for resource consent will now have to be publicly notified. This news has attracted many comments in the community and online - both in favour and in opposition.
One concerned community group, which describes itself as a "resistance group", is called Don't Burn Waipā and was formed in April as a direct response to the resource consent application.
Don't Burn Waipā spokeswoman Dale-Maree Morgan (Ngāti Raukawa ki Wharepūhunga, Ngāti Maniāpoto) has a background in waste minimisation and says the plant "goes directly against climate action".
"I don't understand how they can say that it doesn't affect the Mangapiko Stream, because that area is a known flood plain. I would be concerned that the application doesn't show inundation projections for the next 10 to 50 years - because it is a floodplain, there are potential groundwater contamination issues."
Writer Michael Szabo commented on Facebook referring to a 2020 study about cancer incidence near a waste incineration plant in the Nice area in France. The study finds a correlation between residing in an area exposed to the smoke plume of the incineration plant and the occurrence of certain types of cancer.
Morgan says she was also concerned about the proposed location of the plant.
"[It] would be built on the back of schools and ECE facilities."
She also has an issue with the origins of the waste set to be burned at the plant.
"I understand through waste minimisation forum conversations, that Waste Management already owns the waste of Waipā, and won't want to sell their waste with the model they have.
"[This means Global Contracting Solutions] will truck in waste from other areas and trucking waste in from other areas will decrease the mana of Waipā," Morgan says.
Instead of burning the waste, Don't Burn Waipā proposes to follow the model of the Xtreme Zero Waste Recycling centre in Raglan that divides up to 72 per cent of waste from landfill and operates on an ethos of reduce and regenerate.
The former coal-fired Meremere power station when it was decomissioned. Global Olivine wanted to turn it into a waste-to-energy plant in 2000. Photo / Photopress, Ross Land
National community group collective Zero Waste Network also raised concerns about the plant and say they "have been vocally opposed to the incinerator".
The story on the proposal also attracted comments from members of the community.
Former Auckland representative on the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) Jack Henderson said the plan for Te Awamutu was a "nasty, retrograde proposal".
"When I was on the ARC we rejected a Don Brash-led attempt to convert Meremere [power station] into one of these incinerators. The reason was that burnt dioxins would poison everything it's around including future generations. The science hasn't changed since," Henderson commented.
He is referring to a proposal from resource recovery company Global Olivine, which applied for resource consent to turn the former Meremere power station into a rubbish-burning plant in 1999. After an 18-month battle, the company canned the plans following backlash from locals and three councils.
"At the ARC we did a proper investigation (using actual science) and found that no system would properly destroy dioxins. I note that this proposal's instigators admit this too," Henderson further comments.
A breakdown and direction of waste related to the plant. Graphic / Supplied
Szabo also brought up the Meremere plans in one of his comments on Facebook saying: "The last proposal to do this at the old Meremere power station was rightly rejected by Waikato Regional Council. A cancer factory in Te Awamutu will also ruin local house and farm prices."
Meanwhile, Hamilton local Paula Hansen commented: "I went to hot pools in Japan that were heated by the waste-burning facility next door. Never saw or smelt any smoke or odour so it can be done."
Fellow Hamilton local Callum Mcleod also commented in support saying: "Sweden have waste to energy and are largely recognised as a very green country ... they actually import waste from other countries to burn. Plenty of trash in te awamutu to keep the lights on."
The proposed plans for the Paewira waste-to-energy plant in Te Awamutu suggest burning 150,000 tonnes of waste annually, including materials such as end-of-life tyres and plastic.
This burning process would create 15MW of electric power, enough to provide for about 14,000 average households.
People opposing the plant are particularly concerned about the toxins and greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. However, Global Contracting Solutions claims in its resource consent application that "air discharges are benign".
