A plan that will radically alter the way rubbish is collected and dealt with in Wairarapa is quickly coming to fruition.
Masterton District Council is on the verge of finalising plans to close the Nursery Road tip, set up a sophisticated resource recovery centre for recycling, on the same site, and a transfer station to deal with the remaining garbage, destined to be trucked to Bonny Glen in Manawatu.
The council wants both Carterton and South Wairarapa to come in on the proposal to make it a Wairarapa-wide operation but so far only Carterton has agreed to it, in principle.
Masterton is committed to the project regardless of whether both the other councils join the scheme as the Johnston Street tip must close no later than October next year when consents expire.
When the tip closes it will be "capped" with an overlay of soil or clay sealing the top of the old dump site, so that the land can be rehabilitated.
Grass clippings and other green waste will continue to be windrowed and later sold as compost.
A list of recommendations involving such issues as the exact location of the various facilities and the method of selecting contractors have been prepared by consultants MWH and are expected to be decided on at a full council meeting next week.
In a report to the council's policy and finance committee, Ian Rowden, of MWH, said some types of waste are unsuitable, or uneconomic, for sending to Bonny Glen.
These include animal carcasses, road sweepings, untreated sawdust and some hazardous wastes.
Investigations have shown that in a typical week three to five dog carcasses are dumped at the tip and about one larger animal carcass a month.
Alternative arrangements would have to be made for disposal of waste not able to be taken to Bonny Glen, such as a burial area for carcasses and perhaps a hole somewhere on the old tip site for getting rid of liquid hazardous waste, although Mr Rowden said this would require consent and the Wellington Regional Council "will be reluctant to approve this".
At a meeting of the policy and finance committee this week councillors spoke out on the need to try and restrict the amount of rubbish being trucked to Manawatu once the new system starts, because of the steadily escalating cartage costs.
Councillor Bruce Bishop said trucking costs were set to "go through the roof" within the next few years.
"It's very important that we don't have to truck more rubbish than is absolutely necessary."
Councillor Chris Peterson said Masterton once led the way with the amount of rubbish it was able to recycle but had now been overtaken by several other districts where councils were recycling up to 70 per cent of waste.
Mayor Bob Francis said having the three councils on board " makes sense" when it comes to meeting the operating costs.
Masterton rubbish collection in for radical changes
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.