Kāpiti mayoral candidate Kim Hobson says waste management is not only a core service of Council, it is also a potential revenue earner for Kāpiti ratepayers.
Mr Hobson says he proposes with the Waste Management Solution (WMS) this will manage Waste Water (Sewage), household rubbish and turns this into clean usable energy.
Mr Hobson says this delivers a long-term growth strategy through increasing sewage capacity and the current Wastewater upgrades will not be required.
“The WMS has a capacity to process 700 tons of mixed waste per week with a proven track record internationally with many plants in full operation. Due to land restrictions in some overseas installations and to minimise the environmental impact, these plants have been built in the heart of the cities (underground). The construction and commission process takes approximately 18 months before being fully operational,” says Mr Hobson.
He says currently Waste Management transports 507.5 tons per week of waste to Bonny Glen Landfill (Turakina) and this would be reduced to 500 tons per annum.
“KCDC disposes of 41 Tons per week @ $337 per ton. Additional waste (Shortfall) can be processed from neighbouring councils thus more revenue. The WMS uses enzymes and the process generates 5MW of clean electricity for the grid, which is enough power for the entire Kāpiti district.”
Mr Hobson says based on current energy pricing KCDC would receive $18M per annum revenue from the sale of energy products. “Processing neighbouring waste will provide additional annual income. This will enable household, domestic Rubbish collection to become included in your rates.”
He says this income stream may be applied as: Reduce the Rates (Short term thinking); Pay back some of the KCDC Debt incurred by previous administrations (Long term strategy). This will ultimately be a community discussion and decision (Community engagement)
“This is 100% Carbon Free which is a much better rating than Carbon Neutral,” says Mr Hobson.