FAQs

A transfer station is like a big holding space for rubbish that is emptied several times a day. Spicer Landfill currently has a transfer station where residential customers drop their rubbish. Our customers put their rubbish in the transfer station and our landfill operators then transfer that rubbish up the hill to be buried in the landfill. Large commercial operators tend to bypass the transfer station and truck their rubbish straight up to the ‘tip face’.

The proposed new transfer station options would still operate from the Spicer Landfill site but would see waste trucked from this drop-off point to a landfill outside Porirua. The current open-face Spicer Landfill would be closed and capped off.

Rubbish and organic waste won’t be left on site to decompose in the ground where it could make smelly gases. However, just like with your own rubbish bin, some smells can be present when the lid is open so steps are taken throughout the day to mitigate this, such as constantly transferring the waste into the transportation bins which are closed/shut.

No more so than the current operation and we will be designing the facility and operations to minimize dust and noise impacts.

The landfill is very close to residential properties. Since 2022 there has been a significant increase in complaints about odour coming from Spicer Landfill.

Despite ongoing efforts to reduce odour, it has continued to be an issue. Investigations by Greater Wellington Regional Council have led to enforcement action, meaning the landfill hasn’t met some of the environmental compliance requirements for the past few years. The location of the landfill near residential areas and persistent odour issues makes it unlikely that a new consent application to continue operating beyond 2030 would be approved.

As soon as we look at changing the way this landfill operates, it affects the income and has a flow-on effect on rates. The current landfill generates an annual surplus of approximately $4 million, which reduces rates for all ratepayers.  It’s been a case of trying to find the ‘least bad’ option.  We have looked at a range of possible alternatives and believe that the four options presented are worth considering, but acknowledge that each option has significant drawbacks and trade-offs.

Everyone in Porirua has benefited from the services provided by the landfill – either directly or indirectly. All ratepayers have benefitted from the surplus revenue it provides, which subsidies rates and other services. You may not visit the site yourself, but your rubbish and sludge from the wastewater treatment plant has been dropped off there. If you have been paying for a rubbish bin service, then that rubbish has ended up in a landfill, usually (but not always) locally.

From 1 July 2030 rates will increase as profits from Spicer Landfill operation have been subsidising the cost of other services and your rates.  

The consents expire on 30 June 2030, so we need to have an alternative in place by mid-2030.

Yes, you will be able to under all four options. 

Your kerbside collection will continue but if you have larger amounts of rubbish to dispose of over this period you may have to venture to one of the other transfer stations or landfills in the region if the new service is not yet up and running.

With most of the proposed options there is an increase in what people have to pay to take a trailer load to the new transfer station. The service to date has been funded by the user so it may be that the disposal fee at the transfer station will need to be increased to cover the cost.

Wellington Water is aware of the limited lifespan of the Spicer Landfill consent and is planning for alternatives for sludge disposal and this will be picked up by the new water entity, Tiaki Wai. 

Our analysis of complaint data over the last two years indicates that sludge is not routinely an odour issue. Most complaints highlight a gas or rubbish smell rather than a sewage smell. Removing the sludge won’t remove the problem. The proximity of the current type of landfill (which accepts sludge and other odourous wastes) to residential houses means that there is a potential for odour issues. 

Trash Palace will still be operational if option A is chosen. Under options B and C, which allow for large commercial operators to drop off rubbish, Trash Palace would need to relocate. That’s because more space would be required for the larger transfer station needed to accommodate large trucks.

If option D is chosen, the future of Trash Palace is less clear. It could still operate from the same site but with the lack of people coming and going it may not be viable.

Trash Palace is operated independently to the Council so that would be a question for the current operators.

These facilities will still be operational under options A, B and C. Exactly what is able to be accepted may vary if there are external changes (eg the free drop-off of tyres is dependent on the continuation of the Tyrewise scheme) but what can be dropped off is expected to be largely the same. With option D there will be no services provided.

After you close a landfill in New Zealand, you need to look after it for at least 30 years. This involves capturing the gas as we do now. 

There are other things we’ll manage: erosion and sediment controls, pests, ground formation, restorative planting, water monitoring and leachate management (this is the gross watery stuff that comes out as the old waste decomposes) as well as general site maintenance and management. 

These commercial operators would need to drop off rubbish at one of the other landfills outside of Porirua.