Transfer station design and waste minimisation services to be reviewed

9 May 2008

A review of the proposed design of the Waiheke Island transfer station and options for future waste minimisation services will be presented to the June meeting of the City Development Committee, the committee heard at its meeting yesterday.

"The purpose of the design review is to ensure that we have the best possible layout for the transfer station and to determine whether we can address issues raised in an independent planning consultant's report, such as noise, dust, visual impact and traffic," said committee chairperson, Councillor Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.

The planning consultant had recommended that consents for the new transfer station be notified because of these issues.

The current contract for waste services expires on 30 June, 2008 and the council is seeking to roll the contract over for a further 12 months, pending the review and a comprehensive study of the broader issues of waste minimisation services on the island. These include the problematic issue of transporting material from the island to the mainland.

"Options from this investigation, to come into effect after 1 July 2009, will also be reported to the June meeting," said Mr Lotu-Iiga.

Among options for the design review is a suggestion that all recycling and refuse transfer facilities be enclosed within a building to reduce issues of noise and dust.

Officers told the committee that factors surrounding waste minimisation included:

refuse cannot be disposed of on Waiheke Island and will always need to be brought to the mainland
Waiheke needs an upgraded transfer station, and its current location is ideal in terms of being part of the Tahi Road industrial area and centrally located on the island
it is highly desirable to provide a recovery centre, a facility for dealing with green waste, full recycling services and a transfer facility for refuse at the transfer station
there is money in the budget for reconfiguration of the transfer station
sufficient land has been secured for the facilities at Tahi Road.