New Whitianga Refuse Transfer Station

  • Project typeRefuse and Recycling Transfer Station
  • Project value$11.5 million
  • Completion Date30 June 2026

A new Refuse Transfer Station (RTS), incorporating a Resource Recovery Centre, is being constructed on Moewai Road in Whitianga.

The focus of the new RTS is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and provide an easy, hassle-free service for residents and visitors.

A Resource Recovery Centre at the RTS site will collect, sort, and recover usable construction waste materials and divert reusable materials from landfill.

Our Council has partnered with the Mercury Bay Resource Recovery Centre Trust to build and operate the Resource Recover Centre. It will operate much like the Seagull Centre, next to the Thames RTS, and the Goldmine, next to the Coromandel Town RTS.

Our Council budgeted $11.5 million for the RTS project as part of our 2024-2034 Long Term Plan (LTP).

On 4 November 2024 we were able to announce a grant of $5.9 million from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF), resulting in nearly $6 million in savings for ratepayers.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Ministry for the Environment for this generous grant of $5.9 million,” said Mo Imtiaz, Infrastructure Group Manager of Thames-Coromandel District Council. “Their support will help us bring this long-awaited project to life, enhancing waste management in Whitianga and throughout the district, and contributing to our goal of reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill."

Tracey Bell, Chairperson of Wāhi Tukurua (Mercury Bay Resource Recovery Centre Trust) said, "This funding is the catalyst to realising our community's long awaited waste minimisation and Resource Recovery Centre vision".

The detailed design phase of the RTS project was underway in October 2024, with the procurement process set to begin soon after and continue into 2025. Initial construction is expected to start in April 2025, with completion targeted for June 2026.

The new RTS is needed to meet the growing needs of Whitianga. The existing RTS site will remain in operation until the new facility opens.

Of the $5.9 million grant, $1 million is set aside for an organic waste processing facility that could benefit the entire district. However, the establishment of this organic waste processing facility depends on the results of a high-level feasibility study that had not yet been undertaken as of early November 2024, and co-funding from Council which had yet to be confirmed. Originally, this study was planned for FY2026/27 as part of our Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP), but it will now be brought forward.

Soon, Council will invite proposals from suitably qualified consultants to carry out this organic waste processing facility feasibility study.

In 2022/23 the project had met a number of challenges that delayed it, including contractor availability, supply chain issues, material cost escalations, site conditions and wet weather. As a result, the project went through a review to determine the best way forward to achieve completion. 

Council is continuing to work with Wāhi Tukurua – Mercury Bay Resource Recovery Trust on the project.  

 

Location

Moewai Road, Mercury Bay   View Map

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