Tauranga petfood firm faces charges over alleged odour and wastewater discharges

Ziwi Ltd pet food manufacturing company and ZiwiPeak Ltd are being prosecuted for alleged odour and wastewater offences. Photo / George Novak

Two Tauranga companies are facing a raft of charges over alleged odour offences and wastewater discharges at or near their pet food manufacturing premises.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has laid charges under the Resource Management Act against Mount Maunganui-based Ziwi Limited, which manufactures freeze-dried raw dog food, and its subsidiary ZiwiPeak Ltd.

Tauranga barrister Michael Sharp entered not guilty pleas on behalf of the defendants to three of those charges in the Environment Court at Tauranga today, namely one charge each of discharging contaminated water and one charge that Ziwi contravened an abatement notice or permitted a breach of an abatement notice.

Not guilty pleas were previously entered to a further 22 charges meaning the defendants have pleaded not guilty to a total of 25 charges relating to alleged illegal air discharges and wastewater contamination discharges.

Ziwi Ltd and ZiwiPeak have denied one charge each of discharging contaminated water and three each of discharging wastewater from pet food manufacturing on to or into the land, which may result in it entering a waterway.

Both Ziwi Ltd and ZiwiPeak Ltd have also pleaded not guilty to five charges each of discharging odorous compounds into the air from an industrial or trade premises.

Ziwi Ltd has also denied seven further charges of contravening an abatement notice or permitting a breach of an abatement notice.

Court documents reveal that the offences were allegedly committed some time between April 19 and November 13 last year.

The regional council's lawyer Adam Hopkinson told Environment Court Judge Melinda Dickey there were two separate wastewater prosecutions as well as the air discharges matters, and they would need defending hearing dates set down for next year.

Judge Dickey adjourned those matters to November 5 for a case review hearing for further discussions about possible dates for this to happen.

In June, the regional council also applied to the Environment Court for an enforcement order against Ziwipeak in relation to the same alleged odour issues.

Hopkinson said those matters had already been scheduled to be heard in the Environment Court at Tauranga from November 18 to 22.

Judge Dickey remanded those matters to November 18.