Last Thursday ’s council meeting was filled with frustration as councillors reacted to the news the dump will likely be full in August this year, and a new landfill will not be ready in time.
"There were murmurings two to three years ago that this was going to blow up in our face," Mayor Brian Cadogan said.
"We had reports at every council meeting that this was under control.
"Now it’s not under control, how did we get to this point?" he said.
Talk rounded on the consent process overseen by the Otago Regional Council (ORC), which has yet to be completed.
"Either the noose is around our neck, or it’s not. Where’s our consent — yes or no?" Catlins ward councillor Dane Catherwood said.
"We’ll not have a new landfill by August, even if we got our consent tomorrow," Clutha Valley ward councillor Simon McAtamney said.
Clinton ward councillor Brent Mackie was equally puzzled.
"When I became a councillor two years ago, I heard Cooee was near its end of life. Why are we in damage control all the time?"
Council infrastructure head Jason Foster said a reshuffle of the landfill might squeeze out a few more months, extending capacity until early 2026.
But once space ran out, waste would need to be transported to landfills such as Winton or Dunedin, with a cost of $1,884,000 a year.
"It does my head in," Mr Cadogan said.
"As a council, we are in austerity measures ... We sat here and argued over 50c for a pool and look at us now ... We are on the hook for $150K a month ... We’ve got to think laterally here."
Suggestions to manage the crisis ranged from asking residents and organisations to hold on to types of refuse, halting waste transfers from other areas, using incinerators or even delivering waste to ORC’s Dunedin headquarters.
Council chief executive Steve Hill defended his staff, emphasising projections had changed unexpectedly.
"Early reports showed there was no issue with Mt Cooee becoming full," he said.
"Then there was a big construction blip, and demolition waste increased across the district."
Mr Hill stressed the waste environment had evolved rapidly, making past predictions unreliable.
