The Organics Processing Plant is a Council-owned composting facility in Bromley, operated by Living Earth. The plant receives all the food and green waste collected in the kerbside green bins.
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Please find below links to two letters regarding the Organics Processing Plant. The initial letter is from Environment Canterbury Chief Executive Stefanie Rixecker to Christchurch City Council Chief Executive Dawn Baxendale. The second letter is the response from Christchurch City Council Chief Executive Dawn Baxendale to Environment Canterbury Chief Executive Stefanie Rixecker. Tuesday 15 August 2023 meeting: Tuesday 16 May 2023 meeting: Monday 13 March 2023 meeting: Tuesday 15 November 2022 meeting: Tuesday 16 August 2022 meeting: Tuesday 17 May 2022 meeting: Tuesday 15 February 2022 meeting: 2023 newsletters: 2022 newsletters: We worked closely with Living Earth to develop a Transitional Plan [PDF, 759 KB] for the organics processing plant. The plan outlines odour mitigation measures that we have undertaken. As part of the transitional plan, we provided fortnightly updates to ECan with the progress made on the implementation of the proposed changes. Updates: Independent external environmental specialist Pattle Delamore Partners has carried out odour monitoring at the Organics Processing Plant 1994 Composting garden waste started at the Bromley site. March 2009 The plant started accepting and processing kerbside organics and food waste. June to August 2020 Operational changes to mitigate odour are carried out by the Organics Processing Plant and EcoDrop Transfer Station. EcoDrop carries out an independent review of data. End of August 2020 Environment Canterbury and Council considered how effective the operational changes have been in mitigating odour at the Organics Processing Plant and EcoDrop Transfer Station. Changes made by EcoCentral were found to be effective at reducing odour beyond the site boundary and Environment Canterbury deemed a resource consent was not required for the transfer station. September to November 2020 Redevelopment options are considered for Organics Processing Plant. The upgrade would see the plant's technology upgraded to allow for the majority of the composting process to take place indoors. December 2020 The Council approved a $22 million upgrade of the Organics Processing Plant. The upgrade involves redesigning and replacing the floors and doors of the plant’s 18 composting tunnels, replacing the shredder and improving the biofilter. The upgrades would ensure that all parts of the composting process would be fully enclosed, removing any potential odour or dust. December 2020 onwards The facility redevelopment option starts for the Organics Processing Plant. April 2021 The final stage of the tender process for the redevelopment of the organics plant, the Request for Proposal (RFP), was released on April 27 2021. The RFP gives selected contractors eight weeks to produce a design for the plant and provides a quote on the cost to carry out the work. A preferred contractor was expected to be selected in June, with the contract finalised in July 2021. May 2021 Transitional Management Plan developed with Living Earth outlining significant changes to operations at the Organics Processing Plant. Some of these changes included: September 2021 The redevelopment of Bromley’s Organics Processing Plant was paused after the Council voted to investigate building a new facility at another location. Work is underway to look at options for potential new sites and technologies before a report is due back to Council in April 2022. The option of redeveloping the existing plant is also still being considered. April 2022 The Council agreed in principle to relocate the organics processing operation to an alternative site. A report on the procurement process, for an alternative site, will be presented to Council in March 2023. March 2023 Council approved moving to the final stage of the procurement process to find a permanent alternative to the Organics Processing Plant. The final stage of the procurement process will involve the six shortlisted suppliers submitting a competitive bid through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Council will make a decision on the preferred supplier in December 2023. June 2023 Council decided to engage with the community and mana whenua on options for managing kerbside organics until a permanent solution is operational, including: (a) Sending some, or all, mixed kerbside organics to an alternative, or several alternative, commercial composting and wormfarm facilities if, and when, they have all necessary regulatory approvals; or (b) Sending some, or all, mixed kerbside organics to Kate Valley landfill, if, and when, Kate Valley has all necessary regulatory approvals; or (c) Continuing composting at the Organics Processing Plant with operational improvements Council indicated its preference was to end composting at the Organics Processing Plant as soon as reasonably, and practically, possible. 20 January 2021 Abatement notice issued to the Organics Processing Plant requiring that there be no offensive and objectionable odour beyond the boundary after 31 January 2022. 1 February 2022 Environment Canterbury issued Notice of Non Compliance (NoNC) to the Organics Processing Plant. 2 June 2022 Environment Canterbury issued Notice of Non Compliance (NoNC) to the Organics Processing Plant. 4 June 2022 Notice of Non Compliance (NoNC) issued to the Organics Processing Plant. 31 August 2022 Environment Canterbury begins formal investigations into odours on eight dates. 19 December 2022 Environment Canterbury issued Notice of Non Compliance (NoNC) to the Organics Processing Plant. 10 January 2023 Environment Canterbury issued Notice of Non Compliance (NoNC) to the Organics Processing Plant. 15 January 2023 Environment Canterbury issued Notice of Non Compliance (NoNC) to the Organics Processing Plant. 19 January 2023 Environment Canterbury formally notify Council it is investigating whether to take further enforcement action concerning odours on 10 and 15 January 2023. 26 January 2023 Environment Canterbury issued Notice of Non Compliance (NoNC) to the Organics Processing Plant. 31 January 2023 Environment Canterbury issued Notice of Non Compliance (NoNC) issued to the Organics Processing Plant. 1 March 2023 Environment Canterbury issued Notice of Non Compliance (NoNC) to the Organics Processing Plant. March 2023 Environment Canterbury issued infringement notices for the four January 2023 Notice of Non Compliance dates (10,15,26 and 31 January). Two infringement notices were issued per date with a combined fine per date of $1750. April 2023 Environment Canterbury issued infringement notices for the 1 March 2023 Notice of Non Compliance date. Two infringement notices were issued for the date with a combined fine of $1750. Resource consents allow people or organisations to do something that may have an effect on the environment, but this comes with conditions to protect the environment. Christchurch City Council holds many consents for its operations, some issued by Environment Canterbury (ECan). ECan monitors compliance of the resource consents it issues around the region. It conducts inspections to check consent holders are meeting their resource consent obligations. If there’s an issue, an ECan officer investigates to determine what actions should be taken, including enforcement. There is a range of enforcement actions that can be taken. Read more about Environment Canterbury's enforcement actions.(external link) In April 2022 the Council agreed in principle to relocate the organics processing operation to an alternative site. Following the Council decision, a procurement process started and in August 2022 Council released a request for Expressions of Interest for an organics processing plant to replace the Metro Place facility. We recognise that the organics processing plant has been identified by the Bromley community as contributing to the long-standing odour issues in the area. We are now in a position where we need to think ahead and work out what will be the best option long-term option for Christchurch. It is the Council’s view, at this stage, that given the sensitivity of the current location, relocating the plant to an alternative site is preferred. We hope that the decision to progress the options for the relocation of the organics processing operation to an alternative site will be welcomed by the Bromley community. We thank the community for their patience and understanding while we work through the procurement process. There is currently no preferred site for a new organics processing plant. We will be working through procurement processes to produce a shortlist, including options for location, partnerships, joint ventures and commercial opportunities for the future processing of organics. The procurement process needs to be robust to ensure we are exploring all options for potential alternative sites along with commercial and partnership opportunities. If the Council opted to build an organics processing plant in another location, the process of investigating, consenting, procuring and constructing a new facility would take a minimum of three years. However, there are variables within this that would fall outside of the Council’s control, realistically extending the timeframe to four or five years. If we looked to partner with an existing operation this timeframe may potentially be reduced. We appreciate that the timeframe for this investigation and procurement process is lengthy, however, this is a significant piece of work so we want to ensure councillors have all the information they need to make an informed decision on the future of the organics processing plant. Whatever decision is made, we need to ensure the organics processing plant is fit for purpose – including having the right location, technology, cost and climate impacts. Until the procurement process is completed, the cost of the preferred option won’t be known. Read more on Newsline(external link)(external link). The Organics Processing Plant is a Council-owned composting facility in Bromley that is operated under contract by Living Earth. The facility receives all the food and green waste collected in the kerbside green bins. The plant has been operating under Living Earth since 2009 and has helped divert over 400 thousand tonnes of organic material from landfill. View the Organics Processing Plant operational process (May 2023) [PDF, 466 KB] As part of our Transitional Plan in 2021, we installed a time-lapse camera at the Organics Processing Plant so you could see the reduction in outdoor compost. Time-lapse videos:
Recent meetings, newsletters and updates
Chief Executive letters - October 2023
2023 Community Liaison Group meetings
2022 Community Liaison Group meetings
Newsletters
Transitional plan updates
Odour monitoring reports
2023 Pattle Delamore Partners reports
2022 Pattle Delamore Partners reports
Timeline of Organics Processing Plant operations
Operational changes made
Effectiveness of changes assessed
Redevelopment options potentially considered
Council approves organics plant redevelopment
Facility redevelopment option started
Final stage of tender process released
Council approves investigation of alternative sites for organics plant
Council agrees in principle to relocating the organics processing operation to an alternative site
Council approves final stage of procurement plan
Council approves public consultation on interim kerbside organics options
Timeline of compliance actions issued from 2022 to 2023
Notices of Non Compliance
Moving the organics processing operations
Finding a new location
Timings
Costs
How the organics processing plant works