The community trust that operates the Waitaki Resource Recovery Park recycling centre is confident its long-term future will be secure under major changes to waste management by the Waitaki District Council.
On Tuesday, trust chairman Neville Langrish wanted to make it clear to about 20 fulltime staff and other part-timers their jobs were secure under the changes being proposed.
The council put out a request for proposals to set up a waste transfer station in Oamaru and handle waste once the Oamaru landfill closed in 2016.
Its criteria included ensuring any proposal worked with the trust, which operates the resource recovery park in Chelmer St.
It received proposals from the trust, Chinese-owned Waste Management and Dunedin City Council-owned Delta.
The council chose a joint venture with Waste Management.
Mr Langrish said the trust was happy with the process.
It would be included in the joint venture and would take part in discussions, starting next month, to work out the details.
''We are confident it [the joint venture] will secure our long-term future and provide security for our staff,'' he said.
The joint venture would build a new transfer station, hopefully next to the resource recovery park, although the site was still to be decided.
It would also provide the trust with more waste from which to extract recyclables, he said.
When the council was considering the joint venture, people raised concerns about the future of the trust.
That included Hampden Community Energy, which operated a recycling depot at the Hampden transfer station and relied on the trust's administration for support.
