Bluegums Landfill

Current Operational Activity on Site (September 2022)

Stage 9 construction contract is currently out to tender
Stage 9 construction works will commence during October/November 2022
Operational filling of stage 8 continues
Odour survey was completed during August 2022 and a report is now being prepared and will be presented to Council in November 2022
Improvements to the landfill gas collection system continuing including the installation of additional vertical and horizontal extraction points.

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.

	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22
Tonnage	60,729	71,406	69,415	63,310
Vehicles	38,176	44,144	42,662	42,096

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.