Bluegums Landfill

Current Operational Activity on Site (May 2022)

Three new gas wells will be connected to the landfill gas reticulation system during May 2022. These wells are located in the most recently placed waste and consist of one horizontal and two vertical extraction points. The gas extraction points assist with the collection and destruction of the landfill gas and help mitigate the potential for odour production.
The horizontal gas extraction point will involve some trenching work on Friday 13 May 2022 and Saturday 14 May 2022. Some odours may be experienced during these excavation works.
The long term planting regime for the landfill has been discussed with Council and the Marlborough Landscape Group. Further discussions are ongoing as we work towards developing a planting regime that takes account of the local conditions.
Planning for construction of stage 9 of the landfill is now underway.
A tree removal programme will occur in preparation for the construction of stage 9. Further details will be provided in due course but it is anticipated that this tree removal will occur in July 2022.

Further work has also been underway to investigate the potential beneficial use of landfill gas. This work was tendered in 2021 and the Contract awarded to a company called LMS Energy Limited. The company operate over 70 landfill gas collection and destruction systems across Australia and New Zealand and specialise in utilising landfill gas to fuel biogas plants that generate electricity. The initial stage 1 assessment of the current landfill gas collection and destruction system is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.

Background

The Bluegums Landfill has been engineered to high standards and is expected to service the Marlborough district until 2047, based on annual inputs of 65,000 tonnes.

All landfills generate leachate. This is liquid that has percolated through the waste over a period of time. This liquid is potentially hazardous and would have a negative environmental impact were it allowed to enter our watercourses. To reduce this possibility, the landfill site at Bluegums has a liner system designed to contain any leachate. The leachate is then collected and pumped to the treatment works at Hardings Road.

The Bluegums landfill also generates gas as a by-product from the degradation of the waste. This gas is captured and destroyed or burned off via an on-site flare. Information on landfill odours and how these are mitigated can be found in the PDFs below.

The Bluegums Landfill site operates under a Resource Consent. Operational compliance with the resource consent is set out in the Landfill Management Plan. The current Landfill Management Plan and supporting Odour Management Plan can be found below:

If you experience any issues with the landfill site or its associated traffic movements, please notify Council directly by email to mdc@marlborough.govt.nz

Hazardous Waste Acceptance

Asbestos waste is only accepted subject to Council approval. If the Asbestos material is accepted it can only be delivered to the landfill on a Tuesday or Thursday with the last load before 3pm.

Contaminated soils are also only accepted subject to Council approval. To have a contaminated soil assessed we will require any chemical testing results generated from a preliminary or detailed site investigation report.

Other hazardous wastes for example fuel spills are also subject to Council approval. Please confirm the volume of spill, volume of absorbent and provide any hazard data sheet for the spilt fuel.

To discuss waste acceptance for the above or any other potentially Hazardous waste please contact Council on 03 520 7541.

Landfill opening times

The Bluegums Landfill site is only open to commercial users. Members of the public should take their waste to one of the transfer stations.

The landfill is open as follows:

See public holiday opening times

Day	Time (open)
Monday to Friday	7.30 am to 5.00 pm
Saturday	7.30 am to midday
Sunday	Closed

How much do we send to landfill?

The following tables show how much waste was sent to Bluegums Landfill for dumping along with the number of vehicle movements. This information is updated annually in July.

	2017/2018	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21
Tonnage	66,519	60,729	71,406	69,415
Vehicles	32,838	38,176	44,144	42,662

What do we send to landfill?

Council audits the waste coming into the landfill a couple of times each year. Two thirds of the waste entering the landfill came from industry/businesses. The following shows a breakdown of the waste types entering the landfill for the 2020-21 period.