Paparua annoyed by refuse plan delays

Press, 29 October 1981, Page 6

Paparua annoyed by refuse plan delays

“Procrastination" over plans for a metropolitan refuse disposal scheme is upsetting Paparua County councillors. The council’s finance committee recommended last evening that the council agree to funding which give's priority to an eastern refuse station and landfill site but that it express grave concern about escalating costs for the disposal scheme. Councillors wanted the Christchurch Metropolitan Refuse Committee to go ahead with its original scheme for three transfer stations, and delay extra proposals for resource recovery and composting. They recommended setting a limit on council contributions to the scheme, noting that a 7 per cent capital expenditure increase in the budget was not the council’s responsibility.

The refuse disposal committee had added another $850,000 to the budget for a Kaiapoi mini-station because of delays for a northern site, and resource recoverv. Cr E. C. Britnell told the meeting that the refuse disposal committee was scrapping plans to buy sites in Sturrocks Road and Styx Mill Road for a northern transfer station. Instead, the committee was considering a list of other sites, and a report on a tw’o-station scheme was also to be studied.

The possibility of using two northern sites, one to take refuse and a second for composting, had been hinted at.

The County Chairman, Mr J. Y. Pethig, said that the delays were costing ratepayers huge sums of money.

If a northern station were scrapped, carting half the refuse to the western refuse station in Parkhouse Road would increase wear and tear on county roads.

Cr A. Y. Shuker said that the refuse disposal committee should make up its mind. Political involvement was the cause of the trouble.

“It is so airy-fairy at present that we just do not know what we are voting on,” he said. “It does not look as though the disposal committee will get its act together in the very near future.”

“The committee has bowed down on every occasion where it needed to show strength,” said Cr D. R. Shipley. He said that the council should withdraw from the scheme until the disposal committee had more concrete proposals.