The council has signed a new solid waste contract, which took effect on July 1, with the district’s waste set to begin transferring to the Kate Valley Landfill and Energy Park.
Innovative Waste Kaikoura is in the process of constructing a transfer station at the existing Kaikoura landfill site.
Chief executive Will Doughty said the transfer station had been due for completion by June 30.
But the project has been delayed due to difficulties in completing the engineering design for the required retaining wall because of the underlying ground conditions.
In the meantime, IWK was using open trucks loaded by an excavator until the transfer station is functional.
"It’s a big change, but we always knew we had a finite life for the landfill and we needed to look at alternative options," Doughty said.
"From a customer perspective, people won’t notice a great deal of difference."
While there were extra costs associated with developing the transfer station, Doughty said there would be some cost savings to pass on to ratepayers once the service was fully operational.
The council voted last month to establish a $100,000 fund for community grants which will be included in each year’s annual plan.
Mayor Craig Mackle said the fund ‘‘tidies up’’ the existing grants process by establishing some criteria for a contestable fund.
Existing grants to Kaikoura Information & Tourism Inc, the Kaikoura Historical Society, Sport Tasman and the Kaikoura Youth Council account for $53,000, leaving $47,000 for other organisations to apply for.
Applications opened on July 1 and close next month, with the allocation of funds to be decided at the September council meeting.
From next year applications will open on March 1, with the fund to be allocated as part of the annual plan deliberations.
-By David Hil
Local Democracy Reporter
- Public interest journalism is funded by New Zealand on Air.
