Waste To Energy Plant Possibility For Future

Friday, 22 August 2025, 4:22 pm
Article: Diane McCarthy - Local Democracy Reporter

The creation of a waste to energy plant for Ōpōtiki was among items discussed yesterday as Ōpōtiki District Council adopted its Waste Management and Minimilisation Plan 2024-2030. 

The plan is a statutory requirement for councils and must be submitted to the Ministry of the Environment for funding to be received through the ministry’s Waste Levy. 

A review of the council’s waste management activities was started in early 2024 and consultation took place earlier this year. 

Among the actions to be undertaken over the life of the plan is a review of services across all stages of the waste system including investigating alternative options for waste disposal and recovery which keep the waste within the district or region. 

For example, a waste to energy plant and reuse stores at resource recovery centres. 

Councillor Tom Brooks said an “incinerator-type system such as they use in Scandinavian countries to generate power” had been “kicked around for several years. 

He felt it should be made a priority. 

“I remember a previous council employee talking about it and showing me some options where we can generate power. 

“The opportunity is that we could take all the waste that we have and put it through there. We could expand it to other [districts].” 

He said there were possibilities for employment opportunities and avenues for revenue, and carbon emissions from the process would be similar to putting it to landfill. 

He asked what kind of application the council could make towards the ministry to receive funding for this. 

Solid waste operations manager Anthony Kirikiri said the council could use the funding they received quarterly from the Waste Levy to carry out investigations. 

For such a large project the council could apply for further funding though he was not able to speak for the ministry about how likely the application was to be successful. 

Mayor David Moore said he agreed with Mr Brooks and that adopting the plan would give the council the opportunity to explore the option. 

Ōpōtiki solid waste is transported to Tirohia landfill in the Waikato. 

“We have to bear in mind that these landfills have an end date,” Mr Moore said. 

“We have to think outside the box, because it could happen one day that they will say, ‘sorry, we can’t take it,’ and what will we do.” 

The Waste Management and Minimisation Plan will be sent to the Ministry for the Environment.

-LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air

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