27 Sep 2022

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Christchurch City Council has completed the process of removing tailings, surplus to operational requirements, from the Organics Processing Plant site in Bromley.

Over the past few months, approximately 8,600 tonnes of tailings have been removed from the site as part of the Council’s commitment to reducing potential odour sources at the plant. This is in addition to the compost windrows that were removed from site in January this year.

“The Council resolved in May to remove all surplus tailings from the Organic Processing Plant site and we’ve now completed that process,’’ says Council Head of Transport and Waste Lynette Ellis.

“There are now just 3,000 tonnes of tailings left on site – the minimum that Living Earth needs for the composting process.’’

Tailings are the larger materials, such as sticks and branches, left over after the screening process. They are added to incoming material from the kerbside organics collection to create porosity during the enclosed tunnel composting phase.

“In the future, only tailings required as part of the composting process will be kept on site, which should help to reduce the level of odour from the plant,’’ says Ms Ellis.

The Council is currently exploring options for relocating the organics processing plant to an alternative location. It is in the process of seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from potential providers who may be able to offer a climate-friendly alternative.

The new processing plant will need to be able to handle organics material, collected each week as part of the Council’s kerbside collection service, as well as green waste from our transfer stations. The ability to accept organics from the wider region, including other councils, is also a consideration.

Ms Ellis says the EOI process closes on 11 October. Proposals put forward will then be assessed and a report on short-listed alternatives, to participate in a Request for Proposal (RFP) process, will be presented to the Council by the end of February 2023 for consideration.