South Island Resource Recovery Limited’s (SIRRL) resource consent application proposal to establish an incinerator near Waimate in South Canterbury had already been called in and referred to the Environment Court so that the incinerator’s impacts could be properly considered.

“We are concerned that including the Incinerator in the Fast Track project list will mean this process gets short circuited,” says Sue Coutts from the Zero Waste Network.

“This large incinerator proposal is the first of its type in New Zealand so it is critical that all the impacts are properly considered.”

“Cutting through ‘red and green tape’ doesn’t make economic or practical  sense if it leaves us with a legacy of contaminated sites, land and water pollution and communities afflicted with long term health problems and cost obligations.” said Sue Coutts. 

“Incinerators create CO2 emissions, pollute land, air and water sources, have serious effects on human health and impact primary production. They also lock communities into long term contracts to cover their capex and operational costs.”

“Developing our economy and addressing our infrastructure deficit has to go hand in hand with making sure new development is safe and affordable for families, communities and primary producers.”

“This incinerator will emit dioxins which can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and cause cancer. These will settle on surrounding communities and farmland, potentially travelling hundreds of kilometres downwind. In France, whole regions have been warned by French Health Authorities about food contamination from incinerator-produced dioxins.”

“The incinerator will burn 365,000 tonnes of material each year including materials that are recyclable, reusable and compostable. The Waimate community only produces 1280 tonnes of waste each year, so large volumes of rubbish will be trucked in, it is likely that some of this will come from overseas.

“New development has to help us meet existing commitments like New Zealand’s emissions reductions targets. Incinerators burn large amounts of plastic which is made from oil. They also require fossil fuel inputs to keep the incineration process going so running a large incinerator would create a large new source of CO2 emissions in the waste sector.” 

“A small amount of heat and energy would be created by an incinerator but this is not renewable energy so it does not help decarbonise our economy.”

“Denmark is starting to shut down its incinerators having realised that it cannot meet its emissions reduction targets while burning large volumes of domestic and imported rubbish and recycling.”

“Taking a sound approach to regional development means looking beyond the Company’s sales pitch to understand the real impacts of proposals on families, communities and the local economy. Several iterations of this project have already been put up for consideration and rejected due to concerns about impacts, feasibility and process.”

“SIRRL’s incinerator proposal has been shoehorned into the Schedule 2 list but it is not a good fit. Incineration is a disposal method not a form of resource recovery. Focusing on establishing effective product stewardship schemes and reducing waste at source are constructive ways to address the waste and resource recovery sector’s infrastructure deficit.” said Sue Couttts.

“Communities and businesses want infrastructure that helps them to achieve their waste and emissions reduction goals. It is so frustrating to see these Zombie projects lurching back to life time and time again when the evidence from existing incineration facilities overseas clearly shows the negative effects on human health, primary production and emissions reductions.”