Far North's rubbish set to be dumped in Whangarei

Whangarei is rescuing the Far North from the risk of suffocating under a mountain of its own rubbish.

A plea from the Far North District Council to dump almost half of its yearly rubbish take at Whangarei's Pohe Island landfill has been approved by Whangarei District Council.

WDC yesterday decided to accept 12,000 tonnes from the 25,000 tonnes of mainly compacted rubbish generated in the Far North, at $10 more a tonne than the going rate (currently $40 a tonne), in a one to three year agreement.

A rubbish crisis has been looming in the Far North since about 2000 when the Kaikohe landfill was closed.

FNDC had believed the Whangae landfill near Kawakawa would last another 10 years, and was investigating a new landfill on land owned by Northland College. The site is still being investigated.

A sudden, unexpected population boom -- from 51,000 to 58,000 in the past five years, mainly in the region's eastern seaboard -- saw a corresponding increase in rubbish.

FNDC communications manager Rick McCall said the FNDC was not prepared for the growth or the extra load on the Whangae landfill, despite the council's 10-year plan.

"Frankly we were caught with our pants down and we are working as hard as we can to get them over our knees again."

Mr McCall said Whangae filled so quickly that it had to be closed while resource consent applications were sorted out for an extension to the landfill. This has left only the Ahipara landfill on the district's west coast to take all of the rubbish the district generates.

"If we don't find another landfill, Ahipara will be filled within three years," he said.

Mr McCall said Ahipara's useful life could be increased substantially if Whangae's extension went ahead, or if refuse was dumped at Whangarei. The FNDC was also looking at using two landfills near Auckland.

The FNDC was applying to the Northland Regional Council for resource consents to extend the Whangae landfill, but he was not sure how long it would take for the application to be heard.

In a report to the WDC, solid waste engineer John Langsford said taking the 12,000 tonnes of refuse generated in the south of the Far North would be a win-win for both councils.

"(It) may be seen as an opportunity to help a neighbour and to benefit financially from using any spare Pohe Island capacity."

Pohe Island would fill in about four years, if current usage continued. Plans were well under way for Whangarei's new landfill at Purewa.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)