More than 100 protesters took to the streets of Waimate yesterday in opposition to a proposed waste-to-energy plant.
Why Waste Waimate organised the protest and spokesman Robert Ireland had a clear message.
"We want to let the company [behind the plant] know they’re not welcome here."
The company, South Island Resource Recovery Ltd (SIRRL), is behind a $350 million plant to convert waste into energy.
In 2021 it announced plans to build the plant, saying it would prevent 350,000 tonnes of rubbish from going to landfill each year.
SIRRL representatives returned to the district this week to meet the community at a public meeting.
But Mr Ireland said it did nothing to clarify the burning questions they had.
"Finally they’ve come back to Waimate but they’re still not providing adequate answers to anything.
"We met with them [on Tuesday] and I came out of that meeting with even more questions than I had going into it. "
He felt that holding the community meeting was just "ticking a box".
"We want them to know how we feel about being left out of the process and that there is so much about this proposal that doesn’t stack up for why they’ve chosen Waimate."
The proposed site for the plant is about 2.5km north of Glenavy.
Its close proximity to Oceania Dairy, a dairy manufacturing plant, was another big issue, Why Waste Waimate chairman John Guthrie said.
"They’ve done research in the Netherlands and egg farms in the vicinity [of a plant like this]. Those eggs had a high concentration of dioxins and they couldn’t be sold anymore.
"If that happens to our dairy industry, and this is very close to a dairy factory, it might not happen in the first year, it might not happen in the first five years. But, it will bio-accumulate."
Why Waste Waimate treasurer Lynda Ramsay said if the plant were to be approved, she would have to make some tough decisions about her future.
"My family have been here for five generations. If this incinerator were to go ahead I would want to leave this district and I would feel guilty about selling the property to any other poor bugger who wanted to come and live here.
"I would hope to sell our property to a representative of the company because I don’t know what else would be ethical."
It was not just a local issue either, she said.
"There are currently two other incinerators proposed, by slightly different companies with slightly different configurations, in the North Island.
"But, once the first incinerator is built here, what’s to stop it from happening everywhere?"
SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sessions were constructive and there were good questions.
Sessions were held at Glenavy and Waimate.
Mr Taylor said the WWW group had met SIRRL representatives. He described it as a constructive meeting with plenty of emotion involved.
Some individuals had supported the project but did that in a private capacity.
Mr Taylor said the plant would deliver 30 megawatts of power as electricity into the Waimate region, improving electricity security and potentially encouraging more companies to move to the Waimate area.
He also said the independent expert human health assessment and independent air emissions reports showed no evidence a high concentration of dioxins would happen in Waimate.
He also assured residents that air emissions from the plant would meet strict air quality standards set by the New Zealand Government and regional councils.
It would use the best available technology including a seven step flue gas treatment system to ensure that it comfortably met both New Zealand’s air quality standards and European standards on industrial emissions.
This evidence would be thoroughly reviewed by council-appointed experts through the RMA process.
