A recent photo of the southern Beach Road site, which was part of the local council's Project Reclaim to remove waste at risk of contaminating the coast. Photo: Supplied / Waitaki District Council
More than 65,000 tonnes of waste at risk of contaminating the Waitaki coast have been successfully removed.
The Waitaki District Council said the project to remove historic landfill and illegal fly-tipping was essential to prevent an environmental disaster on the coastline.
The extraction phase has wrapped up this month with close to 48,000 tonnes of waste removed from the closed Hampden Landfill and more than 19,000 tonnes from two fly-tipping sites at Beach Road, about three kilometres south of Oamaru.
The northern Beach Road site is one of two where more than 19,000 tonnes of fly-tipped waste was removed. Photo: Supplied / Waitaki District Council
Infrastructure manager Joshua Rendell said Project Reclaim involved creating a new landfill cell at the former Palmerston landfill.
"The total waste removed was around 67,000 tonne or the equivalent of nearly 45,000 2024 Toyota HiLuxs, one and a half RMS Titanics or 3.1 Auckland Sky Towers," he said.
"Images taken during the project showed the high-tide line already reaching the rock-toeing placed at both the Hampden and Beach Road sites.
"By safely removing it, and storing it far from the coast, Project Reclaim has been a success."
During the excavation at Beach Road, an additional 7000 tonnes of historic waste was uncovered - more than the original 12,000 tonnes estimated.
Surveying was underway to determine what to do with Beach Road.
The road would remain closed off with barriers in place until a decision was made.