Kernohan said he was concerned about the creation of 1.35 billion new plastic bottles each year and also believed the consent for the expansion should have been publicly notified.
Fraser said Sustainable Otakiri "wholeheartedly believe" the consents should have been publicly notified because of the great public interest in water bottling.
The Resource Management Act just wasn't intended to allow such large consent creeps. Especially when multiple councils are affected."
Fraser said the group was launching fundraising activities such as a Pledge Me page and an event to be held in Tauranga on January 12 to raise the money needed to take their battle to the High Court. The group needs to raise at least $35,000 by January 20 to launch their case.
"We have a really strong case to head to the High Court, but we do need the public's help," she said.
"The way in which the courts work means we have very little time to raise the large sum of money needed to launch this case."
Sustainable Otakiri has been denied Environmental Legal Assistance funding for their court case twice. Once for having too wide a scope and once for having too narrow a scope.
"I've never seen a consent increase of this size, without public notification, ever. But we're going to keep fighting."
The expansion of the Otakiri water bottling plant has highlighted the battle between economic growth and environmental concerns.
Trustee-secretary of the Kokohinau Papakainga Trust Rihi Vercoe said the trust was happy with the Environment Court's decision.
"Our first priority is the creation of employment opportunities, particularly for our younger generations," said Vercoe.
"Most of the 20 current employees are from Te Teko and Kawerau. The expansion project will create up to 60 jobs, which will also provide for upskilling opportunities."
She said she had been to the bottling plant to pick up water for over 200 schoolchildren and their carers visiting Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi and had asked for it to be in glass bottles which the company did "very willingly". While there, Vercoe spoke to some of the bottling plant's staff members who told her they were "fearful for their jobs" while the court cases against the plant went on.
"They will now have peace of mind knowing that the Environment Court interim judgement is taking a favourable step forward."
In respect to plastic waste, Vercoe said she would invite opponents of the bottling plant to observe sales of sugary drinks at supermarkets, particularly Coke, which were all sold in plastic bottles.
Creswell NZ said in a statement that the Environment Court decision was the right one and would deliver much-needed benefits to the community, particularly new jobs for locals.
"We're actually at the forefront of global research and development of solutions to distributing water without plastic," said the company's managing director Michael Gleissner.
Gleissner said the company had been advocating for a comprehensive recycling scheme in New Zealand for several years and reducing waste remained a key focus for the company.
"We use recycled PET in New Zealand and advances in technology means the average weight of resins in our bottles has reduced by nearly 50 percent since 2000," he said.
"We do use glass in other markets but it's important to note that glass bottles carry a much heavier carbon footprint than the recycled plastic we use in New Zealand.
"We're presently working on a fully biodegradable bottle for market and we're excited about other opportunities and new ways of distributing water."
Te Runanga o Ngati Awa is yet to comment on the court decision as it is currently focused solely on the Whakaari/White Island tragedy.
