Te Kōhanga Āhuru pest control involves three North Taranaki iwi - Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Maru. Te Kōhanga Āhuru project administrator Marlene Benson said the project would create sustainable employment for the wider whānau and hapū, and ensure that the forests within their rohe are safe for kiwi. The three iwi involved in the project have a deep attachment to the land, she said. Experience Purangi conservation trust general manager Rebecca Somerfield said the funding would allow the East Taranaki Environment Trust to expand pest control boundaries out 5775ha to 18,775ha, and 15 future staff.
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Waste processing company Remediation NZ is disappointed New Plymouth District Council is withdrawing support for its North Taranaki Uruti waste disposal site.
New Plymouth’s household food waste will be trucked to a north Waikato facility for at least another two years after the district council pulled its support for a controversial Taranaki composting operation. Since 2019 the district’s food scraps have been shipped 300km to Hampton Downs while the local processor Remediation NZ got its consents sorted to process the waste within the district at Uruti. But the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) has now shut the door on that plan and is withdrawing all support for the consents because of “serious environmental concerns” about the site.
Photo: Screenshot
In an odd move, the council is looking to formally withdraw its submission in favour of renewing Remediation NZ s consents - more than two weeks after they were considered at a public hearing.
The company has a long history of non-compliance with consents and Ngāti Mutunga, neighbours, environmentalists and oil and gas industry watchdog groups oppose its consents being renewed.
New Plymouth Council wanted to process its food waste collection at Uruti and it along with companies such as Fonterra, Tegel, Waste Management and EnviroWaste, submitted in favour, arguing Remediation NZ provided a sustainable option for waste disposal not available anywhere else in Taranaki.
For many years it has suffered leaks into the stormwater system during heavy rainfall. For two years the district council has warned against collecting shellfish and using the popular Urenui River mudflats after testing detected high levels of E coli bacteria. This summer Ngāti Mutunga escalated those warnings with a rāhui on swimming, fishing and shellfish collecting in the river and estuary. Ngāti Mutunga rūnanga kaitiaki Rodney Baker said replacing the current system was essential. When will it be fixed? When will the sewerage be fixed? NPDC infrastructure manager David Langford said Urenui was a top priority.
Iwi says new sewerage system in North Taranaki not optional rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.