The waste-to-organics processing company Ecogas, of which 85% is owned by Alexandra-based Pioneer Energy Group and 15% by Ecostock managing director Andrew Fisher, is building the factory at a 3ha site at Hornby.
It will replace Bromley's troubled, odorous composting site. Independent commissioners appointed by Environment Canterbury granted resource consent to build the EcoGas plant in August.
Ecogas said the Ōtautahi Christchurch Regional Organics Processing Facility will accelerate Canterbury’s decarbonisation and build energy resilience.
Staff would be required to carry out daily checks around the plant to detect any smells, and emissions from the plant's combustion units would be regularly monitored.
Ecogas chief executive Peter McClean said in a statement this week the project will deliver lasting benefits for Canterbury.
Household, commercial, and industrial organics collected from throughout the region will be processed at the site into natural substitutes for imported synthetic fertiliser and coal.
Digestion tanks will process wetter materials, including kerbside collections, while greenwaste with more fibre will be run through a biomass processing line.
The design includes four large tanks with space set aside for a fifth tank and the biomass line is being built with additional capacity to take incoming waste above normal collections.
The Christchurch site follows Ecogas’s Reporoa facility in the central North Island, which processes 75,000 tonnes of organic waste each year into renewable gas and natural fertiliser.
