Waste Levy for Project Reclaim waived
Published on 06 March 2025
The Ministry for Environment has approved the waiver of the $4,047,929.40 waste levy for Project Reclaim. This will reduce the total cost of the project to $14.5 million, with potential further cost reductions possible if an ETS waiver of around $1.4 million is granted by the government.
This is not money that is returned to Council, but money that Council now does not have to pay. The same applies to the potential ETS waiver that is still being processed.
The council's stance was that Project Reclaim did not generate new waste but rather removed historic tide-line waste to prevent an environmental disaster. When the invoice for the waste levy was received, Council disputed it. It made an application to the Ministry for Environment, and provided reports and other information to request the Waste Levy be waived.
The levy relates to the 67,465.49 tonnes of waste that was removed from the former Hampden landfill and two contaminated sites at Beach Road and placed at a new landfill cell built at the Palmerston Landfill.
Mayor Gary Kircher says: “This is a sensible outcome. Waitaki District Council took decisive action to fix the mistakes of the past and preserve our beautiful coastlines. I would like to thank Minister Simmonds for taking the time to meet with me on this topic, and the MfE for recognising the benefit to the environment that Project Reclaim has delivered.”
Chief Executive Alex Parmley says: “This news, and the potential ETS waiver, would bring total project costs to around $13 million dollars, which is within the budget we anticipated for Project Reclaim. Despite extracting significantly more waste—67,465 tonnes instead of the predicted 45,000—we have remained within our target budget while ensuring the long-term safety of our coastlines. Special thanks to the Project Reclaim team, led by Steve Clarke, for completing this important work in an efficient and timely manner”
Council has recently concluded a public consultation on its Draft Long Term Plan, which included options for the future of Beach Road which was severed following the remediation of historic fly-tips at two sites. Council will be holding public hearings on the Long Term Plan, before making a final decision later this year.
ENDS