A Waimate District Council survey asking residents if they support a proposed $350 million waste-to-energy plant has received more than 700 responses with an emphatic majority stating their opposition. The result of the survey, which ran from November 5 to 19, showed 94% of respondents were against the proposal. The council received 735 responses to the question: “Do you support a waste-to-energy plant within the Waimate District?” Of...

Farmers in a small South Island town are worried milk and meat produced in the area will be contaminated if a waste-to-energy plant goes ahead. “Cattle and sheep are grazing the grass, which puts a massive negative on our exports if things like toxins are found in our meat and wool for New Zealand,” sheep and beef farmer Ross McCulloch said. The Glenavy site is close to dairy...

At a November 5, 2024 workshop, the Waimate District Council (WDC) agreed that the mayor write a letter to the fast track ministers requesting Project Kea be removed from the Fast Track Approval’s Bill’s listed projects’. The letter dated November 12 states; WDC writes to express our collective opposition, on behalf of our community, to the approval and construction of the South Island Resource Recovery Limited, Project Kea...