Concern at firm's chemical waste build-up

A controversial battery recycling plant in Petone has been accused of storing thousands of tonnes of chemical battery waste with no long-term solution for its disposal.

Exide Technologies was banned from dumping the waste at the Wainuiomata landfill and for the last year has instead been storing 5000 tonnes of chemicals in sealed drums.

Don Carson from the Hutt City Council said the company had so far failed to find a way to treat the waste so it could be dumped safely.

He said Exide had double the amount of waste the council had previously thought, and warned the Wainuiomata landfill was almost full.

"With the volume that Exide is now talking about," he said, "it does raise a number of issues as to whether it could all go and how rapidly it could go to Wainuiomata".

- NEWSTALK ZB