Amy Adams14 FEBRUARY,
2013
The Government has awarded $4.7 million
to a project that turns sewage and organic
waste into resources such as energy, and
fertiliser, Environment Minister Amy Adams
has announced.
The technology has been
developed by Scion, a Crown Research Institute
based in Rotorua, and successfully trialled
by the Rotorua District Council.
The money from the Government’s
Waste Minimisation Fund will be used to
design, engineer and build a full scale
plant at a Rotorua wastewater treatment
facility, and research how the technology
could be applied to other waste streams.
The Rotorua plant aims
to reduce the volume of biosolids going
to landfill by 90 per cent and cut greenhouse
gases by up to 70 per cent.
“This project has the
potential to deal with one of New Zealand’s
most problematic waste streams, and provide
a fundamental change in the way waste is
managed in New Zealand,” Ms Adams says.
“It is pleasing to be
able to back an innovative project such
as this, which shows Kiwi ingenuity is able
to develop world-leading, practical ideas
that enhance our clean, green image.”
The technology will
eventually be made available to other wastewater
plants around New Zealand.
The Waste Minimisation
Fund provides financial support to projects
which increase resource efficiency and decrease
the amount of waste going to landfill. Money
for the fund comes from a waste levy charged
on material disposed of at landfills.
To date, the Government
has allocated $27 million in funding for
86 projects through the fund.
For more information
on the Waste Minimisation Fund go to:
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/waste/waste-minimisation-fund/index.html
