Waimate Mayor Craig Rowley recalls how “highly disappointing SIRRL’s approach to community communication had been.“ At a Waimate District Council public workshop, on November 19, 2024, Waimate mayor Craig Rowley described SIRRL’s approach to community communication as ‘disgusting’. “When it comes to the proposed waste-to-energy plant, I’m disappointed, disgusted in the way that this council and our ratepayers have been treated, in the way that we have heard...

On December 1, 2024, Why Waste Waimate sent a letter to Fast-track minister Christopher Bishop raising concerns about the inclusion of SIRRL’s incinerator proposal on the list of projects included for fast-track approval. In a December 30, 2024, Timaru Herald article, SIRRL responded with director Paul Taylor stating the letter contained “factual errors, and has resulted in the company seeking legal advice over possible defamation proceedings”. When requested by the Timaru Herald to elaborate...

On December 16, 2024 the government released the applications submitted for fast-track assessment. However, SIRRL’s application shows just how low the government is willing to go when accepting proposals for fast-track inclusion. SIRRL’s application is littered with mistakes, misleading figures, exaggerated claims, inconsistencies, and completely omits the proponents compliance history from its application.  SIRRL’s signed declaration is false and therefore should have been rejected outright.  In an October...