Landfill to keep operating until 2026

A Christchurch landfill used to dispose of low-level contaminated soil and waste from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes will continue to operate until 2026 after it was granted a two-year consent extension.

The last 9.62ha section of the Burwood Landfill - which does not accept hazardous material - was set to close when its resource consent expired on June 30 this year.

But Environment Canterbury has granted a two-year consent extension to allow the landfill's "site C" section to keep operating until June 20, 2026.  

"We had anticipated we’d need to close site C by 2024 when it was expected to have reached capacity, but soil volumes delivered to the site have been lower than predicted, so there’s enough room for another two years of operation,” said Christchurch City Council resource recovery manager Dr Alec McNeil.

McNeil said there are currently no other soil disposal sites in the Christchurch area to fill the gap if the Burwood Landfill was closed.

"Continuing operations here means we don’t need to travel outside of Christchurch to other disposal sites, which cuts costly transport distances and provides time for the industry to open new landfill sites."

The landfill at the Burwood Resource Recovery Park was initially opened by Transwaste Canterbury to process earthquake waste from demolished buildings.

Since 2019, the landfill has been progressively closed down. Now only the 9.62ha site C remains open.

“Continuing at site C until it reaches capacity is the best and most economical option,” McNeil says.

“I want to assure local residents that apart from the change to the resource consent, all operations will remain the same and will not involve any new excavations or an increase in size – we’re adding material to the existing site area.”

He said the council will not be seeking a further extension when the consent expires in June 2026. Once it has closed in June 2026, the site will become part of the neighbouring Bottle Lake Forest Park.