29 Nov 2022

Second consent application lodged for Waimate waste-to-energy plant

2:22 pm on 29 November 2022
An artist's concept  for a waste-to-energy plant proposed to be built at Waimate by South Island Resource Recovery Limited.

An artist's concept for a waste-to-energy plant proposed to be built at Waimate by South Island Resource Recovery Limited. Photo: Supplied/ SIRRL

Another consent application has been lodged for a controversial waste incinerator plant in South Canterbury.

South Island Resource Recovery's first consents for the Waimate plant were returned last month because fundamental information was missing.

Company director Paul Taylor said he's confident the further expert evidence and data supplied will meet assessment needs.

"We've also had extensive and beneficial discussions with local doctors, to further add depth to the information we've provided in the application, and to also answer concerns they recently raised given the newness of this technology to Aotearoa New Zealand," Taylor said.

"SIRRL has been grateful for their contribution, the time they've invested, and appreciate that the community still has questions that should, at least in part, be answered by the new application."

Local iwi have also been approached, he said.

Canterbury Regional Council identified incomplete information on the impacts to cultural values, groundwater, surface water, air quality, stormwater discharge, and odour.

More than 150 Waimate locals have formed a group opposing the plant.

Why Waste Waimate had concerns about the proposed budget of the plant, its location, and environmental and health impacts, and many thought SIRRL was not being honest about how the plant would operate.