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Northern Landfill Shuts Down
31.01.06
The Council’s Northern Landfill, north of Johnsonville, is nearly full and will not accept any more general waste from Thursday 16 February.
From 16 February, the only material accepted for dumping will be clay and soil that has been inspected by landfill staff. This will be used to cover the landfill and will be accepted only until 30 June – earlier if enough cover material is delivered before then.
Anyone wanting to dispose of clay and soil can call the Southern Landfill Office on (04) 383 4400 to arrange for an inspection.
Recycling bins will operate at the Northern Landfill until 1 March. They will then be removed and no further recycling accepted.
The landfill, 2kms north of Johnsonville off State Highway 1, has been operating since 1994. The 4.5ha site was leased by the Council from Lincolnshire Farms Ltd and will now revert to its owners.
"The three fulltime Council employees at the landfill will be found alternative work, either at the Southern Landfill or elsewhere within the Council," says Director of Infrastructure Stavros Michael. "Two staff will stay on at the landfill for a couple of months doing general tidying up work associated with the closure."
With the end of dumping, the Council will compact and cover the last of the waste material and plant grass seed.
The closure leaves the Southern Landfill – behind Happy Valley Road in Wellington – as the only remaining landfill in the city. The Council's focus is on making the Southern Landfill last as long as possible.
If all goes well, the Southern Landfill has between 100 and 150 years worth of capacity – longer if the Council can reduce the amount of waste being dumped.
Aside from the Southern Landfill, people can also dispose of rubbish at the Spicer Landfill at Porirua City.
New Zealand's landfills are filling fast, but much of the rubbish people take to landfills can be recycled or composted. Landfills are for rubbish that can't be disposed of by recycling and kerbside collections.
The City Council recently approved a draft Environmental Strategy reaffirming its commitment towards cutting waste as a long-term goal.
As part of its strategy, the Council last month launched Kai to Compost, an innovative year-long trial to turn food scraps from 50 Wellington restaurants and businesses into compost.
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