The decision on an alternative solution for dealing with sewage sludge from Wanaka's Project Pure wastewater treatment facility has been delayed, as the Queenstown Lakes District Council awaits news on a funding application.
The key drivers for finding alternative beneficial uses for the sludge - rather than sending it to the Victoria Flats landfill at Gibbston - are the high cost of disposal to landfill, the potential instability caused by the material in the landfill, an increase in disposal costs associated with future charges for the Emissions Trading Scheme, and the need to increase the capacity of the landfill for future generations.
Expressions of interest for a contract with the council for sludge composting were called for in November last year. The council received seven tenders from throughout the country, which ranged from drying the material before disposing to landfill, to composting, QLDC solid waste manager Stefan Borowy said.
"We've got a preferred solution and ... we've applied to the Ministry for the Environment waste minimisation fund to part-fund that solution."
An announcement on whether the funding application was successful had been expected at the start of this month, but was now delayed for another couple of weeks.
Mr Borowy could not provide any further information until the tender process was complete.
In the previous financial year, ending June 2012, a total of 990 tonnes of sludge from Project Pure was sent to landfill, at a cost of $178.70 per tonne.
