Innovative City Bio-solid Waste Use Wins Environmental Award

EMARGOED 7.30 pm, Thursday 18 July 2013

Innovative Use of City Bio-solid Waste Wins Environmental Award

A project which beneficially uses municipal biosolid waste to create high quality topsoil for rehabilitation of mining sites has won the inaugural Minerals West Coast Environmental Award at a conference in Greymouth tonight.

The innovative approach solves two very different problems – how to dispose of biosolid wastes and how to produce a viable topsoil for rehabilitation of land that has been mined.

The nutrients provided by biosolids enable rapid establishment of plant cover, which reduces the adverse environmental effects of exposed soils e.g. sediment run-off and acid mine drainage.

“The technique is a result of intensive teamwork over a number of years and is sure to become one of the fundamental components of our rehabilitation toolkit,” said Phil Rossiter, Sustainable Development Manager for Solid Energy.

The technique is now in use at the Stockton mine, operated by the Stockton Alliance, a partnership between Solid Energy and Downer EDI Mining.

Judges of the Awards, Minerals West Coast CEO Peter O’Sullivan, Sarah Wild from DOC and Straterra Policy Analyst Bernie Napp, said that this was the first year that the Environmental Awards had been held and they were pleased with the interest from the industry and the innovation that had been demonstrated by companies involved in mining on the West Coast.

“Other award entries broke new ground in terms of innovative approaches to mitigate the environmental effects of mining, “ he said.

One project from Taylor coal successfully identified an additive to give a faster, cleaner burn from coal which increased burning efficiency and reduced emissions.

Another innovative project involved using waste mussel shells from the seafood industry to neutralise the acidity in water discharging from the mining site. The positive benefit of this process is to produce stream water which can support aquatic life.

A further nominated project involved restoring the post mine environment to support the long term conservation of the Powelliphanta augusta land snail, an endangered native snail. The quality of the rehabilitation recently enabled the release of 500 captive snails into this area, which a DOC spokesman has described as a significant conservation milestone.

Mr Napp said that New Zealanders want to know that mining companies are taking a proactive approach to managing the environmental effects of their operations.

“These entries demonstrate that the significant expertise that exists within the mining industry is being used to produce enhanced positive environmental outcomes for our communities”, Mr Napp said.

ENDS

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