Solution for pong in posh neighbourhood

The stink from a landfill near Gibbston could be remedied by a gas capture and destruction system.

Plans for the system at the Victoria Flats landfill were outlined by Queenstown Lakes District Council staff at this week's Otago Regional Council meeting.

Its design has been completed and costed, orders placed for some components, and a platform for a large flare pipe is now under construction at the landfill.

The district council's contract manager, Laura Gledhill, and its maintenance and operations manager, Erin Moogan, told regional councillors the system was expected to be commissioned by the end of next year.

The smell from the landfill has been dogging Gibbston residents - and motorists on nearby State Highway 6 - for years.

The landfill operates under three consents from the regional council, including an air discharge permit.

In their presentation, Ms Gledhill and Ms Moogan said that under national air quality standards, landfills with more than 200,000 tonnes of waste were required to collect their gases.

They attributed the smell to seven causes, including the "unexpected arrival of odorous loads", chemical reactions between different loads of waste when placed on the landfill, and excavations into old waste.

The new system would be installed into existing waste cells, and extended as the landfill grew.

The next stage in its development would be to drill test wells and alter batter slopes, both of which could cause a "possible increase in odour".

Gibbston Community Association chairman Craig Palmer said the plans sounded encouraging, and he would take up an invitation to visit the landfill on Thursday to find out more.


 

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