Dealing with waste from Cyclone Gabrielle

1 March 2023

The Council has identified a number of waste types and these will need to be dealt with in different ways. 

The aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle has resulted in large volumes of waste.  

Residential: Many areas have been inundated with silt from the flood waters and there are concerns regarding the level of contamination of the silt. Please check the EQC factsheet here about removal of silt.

Farmers/Lifestylers/Orchardists: If you have waste on a lifestyle block, farm or orchard, HBRC will be able to help you remove larger volumes.  Landowners are asked to remove the silt and move it to a location on their own property with suitable access for trucks. Contact us on 06 835 9200 or 0800 108 838 as we will coordinate with a contractor for the removal of the silt. The silt will be rapid-tested when collected to measure any levels of contamination and to ensure contaminated and non-contaminated silt is kept separate.  Silt that is not contaminated or has a low level of contamination will be repurposed. 

The Councill has identified a number of waste types and these will need to be dealt with in different ways. Please try to keep these waste types separate so that we can minimize the amounts of mixed-waste that end up in our already overloaded waste sites.

The types of waste covered in this advisory are:

• Animal (livestock) carcass retrieval and disposal 
• Silt
• Wood debris
• Posts and wire

Advice on disposing of the following wastes will be provided later:

• Hazardous materials/ contaminated silt,and 
• Chemical waste 

1) Livestock carcass removal 

If already on a farm, farmers may be able to bury their own dead stock as per normal conditions. Large scale events should be reported to HBRC so that in these instances the dead stock can be removed from the property, particularly if located over an unconfined aquifer or within a source protection zone. 

If disposing of stock on a property, please consider the following before burying:  

• Proximity to waterways, noting burials should be at least 50 m from a waterway or critical source area 
• The usual pest/ vermin control 

If deceased stock are not on a farm, or there are too many on the property for the landowner to deal with, please phone HBRC on 06 835 9200 or 0800 108 838. HBRC will coordinate collection and appropriate disposal. 

2) Silt removal 

Many areas have been inundated with silt from the flood waters and there are concerns regarding the level of contamination of the silt. 

Residential: Many areas have been inundated with silt from the flood waters and there are concerns regarding the level of contamination of the silt. Please check the EQC factsheet here about removal of silt.

If you have waste on a lifestyle block, farm or orchard, the Regional Council will be able to help you remove larger volumes.  These landowners are asked to remove the silt from around vines or trees and move it to a location on their own property with suitable access for trucks.

The landowners can then contact the regional council on 06 835 9200 or 0800 108 838 who will coordinate with a contractor for the removal of the silt.

The silt will be rapid-tested when collected to measure any levels of contamination and to ensure contaminated and non-contaminated silt is kept separate.  Silt that is not contaminated or has a low level of contamination will be repurposed.. 

3) Wood waste 

Wood waste has washed up on beaches, river sides, roadsides, public areas and private properties after the cyclone. The Regional Council will remove debris and chip it from public places, starting with the immediate area around the Heretaunga Plains and then progressing further afield from there.

The Council strongly recommends against burning this waste as it will be contaminated and burning the waste risks spreading any contamination.

If you have wood waste on a lifestyle block, farm or orchard, the Regional Council will be able to help you remove larger volumes.  Landowners are asked to move the wood waste to a location on their property with suitable access for trucks.

The landowners can then contact the regional council on 06 835 9200 or 0800 108 838 who will coordinate with a contractor for the removal of the wood waste.

4) Posts and Wire 

The cyclone has caused many vineyard, and orchard posts and wire to be ripped out of the ground, and these are now scattered across properties, neighboring land and roadsides.

PLEASE NOTE
Tanilized posts and wire that make up this waste cannot be disposed of through burning.  Burning of this waste will release toxic chemicals into the wider environment.

Where landowners have large quantities of posts & wires from fences, viticulture and horticulture operations, these can be collected by HBRC and held in a secure site for further work. HBRC will arrange collection and suitable remedial work to separate wire, for wire recycling and returning of usable posts to farmers. Landowners can contact the regional council on 06 835 9200 or 0800 108 838 to coordinate the removal of posts & wire fences.

26 July 2024

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