Dunedin City Council (DCC) has been granted consent by the Otago Regional Council to redevelop Green Island Landfill’s Resource Recovery Park (RRP).

The redevelopment will include new state-of-the-art facilities for processing recyclable and organic material bringing Ōtepoti Dunedin another step towards a zero-waste future with a more circular economy and reduced emissions. There will be a new Mixed Recycling Facility (MRF) which will take the contents of the yellow-lidded mixed recycling bins and help automate the sorting process required for resale to other markets.

There will also be a composting facility to take material from the Organics Receivals Building built at Green Island early last year. The composting facility is designed to minimise odour and produce a quality, saleable organics product for reuse. These facilities will eliminate the current need to transport material collected from Dunedin’s yellow and green-lidded kerbside bins to Redruth Resource Recovery Park in Timaru.

The redevelopment also includes a new sorting area for glass, an upgraded education centre, and a new waste transfer station for rubbish destined for landfill. The Rummage Shop where people can donate or buy pre-loved items will remain along with upgraded areas for people to drop off their recyclable material and garden waste.

Dunedin City Councillor Jim O’Malley says DCC staff frequently consulted with neighbours and other key stakeholders regarding the construction and operation of the RRP.

“Consideration of their ideas and concerns was an important part of preparing our resource consent application to the Otago Regional Council. Our liaison with those key stakeholders will continue,” he says.

“We fully agree that design of the RRP and its operation by our contractors must minimise odour and noise. We must also grab this opportunity to help the city to its zero waste, zero carbon goals by reducing waste to landfill.”

The excellence of the facilities and the RRP services will assist everyone to view the material that arrives here from their bins and trailers as assets to be reused and not wasted, Cr O’Malley says.

The DCC incorporated funding for the construction of the RRP in its 2021-31 long term plan. That funding is being revisited in the preparation of the 2025-34 nine-year plan and will factor-in increased construction costs. The construction of the RRP is a key component of the overall Waste Futures programme to establish modern waste diversion facilities and processes for Dunedin City.

A separate DCC consent application to the Otago Regional Council (ORC) to continue to use the Green Island landfill itself until it closes completely around 2029 was opened to public consultation from 16 November to 13 December 2024. A decision on the application is expected by the ORC by mid-2025.

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