8 Jul 2024

Operations will continue on part of the Burwood Landfill until 2026.

A two-year extension for operations at Site C has been granted by Environment Canterbury (ECan) with a new resource consent expiration of 30 June 2026.  

The previous consents, granted in 2022, expired on of 30 June 2024.

“We had anticipated we’d need to close Site C by 2024 when it was expected to have reached capacity, but soil volumes delivered to the site have been lower than predicted, so there’s enough room for another two years of operation,” says Resource Recovery Manager, Dr Alec McNeil.

Dr McNeil says there are currently no other soil disposal sites in the Christchurch area that could fill the gap in the market if the Burwood Landfill closes.

“Continuing operations here means we don’t need to travel outside of Christchurch to other disposal sites, which cuts costly transport distances and provides time for the industry to open new landfill sites.”

The Burwood Resource Recovery Park was established by Transwaste Canterbury to process earthquake waste from the city’s demolished buildings.

Since 2019 Burwood Landfill has been progressively closing, with only the 9.62ha Site C remaining open.

The small section of the Landfill is used to dispose of soils that contain low levels of contaminants. No hazardous material is accepted.

“Continuing at Site C until it reaches capacity is the best and most economical option,” Dr McNeil says.

“I want to assure local residents that apart from the change to the resource consent, all operations will remain the same and will not involve any new excavations or an increase in size – we’re adding material to the existing site area.”

The Council will not be seeking a further extension when the consent expires in June 2026.

Once closed in June 2026, the site will be incorporated into the neighbouring Bottle Lake Forest Park.