Cr Lee Vandervis said sending rubbish on big trucks to a planned landfill at Smooth Hill would make no sense when "bigger, better" landfills existed at Winton, Southland, and Taiko, inland of Timaru.
The Dunedin City Council (DCC) "only handles about 20% of Dunedin’s waste by tonnage, as privately operated landfills like Nash and Ross are more competitive for everything except household putrescent waste which the DCC has a monopoly over", he said.
"I have long voted against the DCC establishing a new landfill at Smooth Hill, because landfill compliance costs have increased so much in recent decades that the DCC waste stream is not big enough make a local landfill economically viable or competitive."
The new Taiko landfill operated by Canterbury Environmental Solutions does not accept putrescible waste — or solid waste that decomposes, such as food scraps — but the AB Lime landfill at Winton does.
Debate continued at the weekend and into this week about the city council’s $92.4 million proposed landfill at Smooth Hill, near Brighton.
In an extensive Facebook post, Dunedin mayoralty candidate Andrew Simms described this as unnecessary capital expenditure and debt.
A better call would be to send waste to the established facility at Winton, he said.
"AB Lime could take all of Southland’s and Otago’s municipal waste, including Dunedin’s waste, at its Winton landfill for the next 190 years."
The council confirmed it had an agreement with AB Lime as backup should this be needed before Smooth Hill opens, due to happen about 2030.
The council was aware of the Facebook post.
"We’re not in a position to debate a council candidate’s views, but some of the views expressed contain inaccuracies," a spokesman said.
The council has also said the proposed $92.4m was for construction of the landfill and upgrading roads to improve access for trucks travelling from the Green Island transfer station.
The Otago Daily Times asked city councillors for further thoughts about Smooth Hill.
Cr Steve Walker said regaining control of the waste stream was a fundamental premise behind the revamped kerbside collection service in the city featuring multiple bins.
"In simple terms, shipping our waste out of the region relinquishes the effort we’ve invested in gaining control," he said.
It was "simply wrong to expect others to manage the waste we produce".
The council could also maintain control of financial aspects of the Smooth Hill project, he said.
"Nothing I’ve seen during the extensive and thorough investigations into this issue over the years has convinced me that building Smooth Hill is not, in the long run, the most financially advantageous option for ratepayers."
Cr Walker was looking forward to the council’s long-term plan hearings and he expected "most of the public will agree that Dunedinites dealing with the rubbish they generate is the right thing to do, both financially and philosophically".
Cr Sophie Barker said the council had been through a rigorous process to figure out the best option.
"As councillors, we’ve had a truckload of reports and workshops over many years to lead us to decision-making on waste management," she said.
"Every option has its pros and cons and I would consider we’ve made the best choice we can over building Smooth Hill, with the information we have."
