Whitianga’s new refuse and recycling centre is so high-spec it could be mistaken for an Auckland facility, a local mayor says.

The centre, which had a ceremonial opening on Tuesday, filled a “crying need” in the community and had been 10 years in the making, Thames-Coromandel District Council mayor Peter Revell said.

The station, at 48 Moewai Rd, was allocated $11.5 million in the council’s 2024-2034 Long Term Plan.

Up to $5.9 million came from the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport’s (MCERT) Waste Minimisation Fund.

Revell described the facility as “absolutely stunning”, saying it was designed to serve the community for decades.

“You kind of wonder ‘how do you get excited about a rubbish dump’, well I tell you this is just spectacular,” Revell said.

The journey to replace the old station was arduous, with the facility outpaced by Whitianga’s growing population, which increases exponentially during summer.

The initial budget for a replacement was “not adequate”, Revell said, with more money taking longer than anticipated.

“There were challenges around getting the right level of funding to build an appropriate facility and that is always a challenge ... it took a few years actually to get sorted out [but] the whole project was kept within budget.”

Thames-Coromandel District Council Group Infrastructure Manager Mo Imtiaz ushers in Whitianga’s new waste station. Photo / Thames-Coromandel District Council

Additional funding from MCERT was strongly welcomed, which allowed council to build a facility to “achieve the outcomes we were looking for”, Revell said.

“That is to deal with waste in a way which is the best that we can possibly do for our environment. I think it is going to be incredibly easy to use because you’re gonna be able to move cars and trucks around the whole environment... so it helps with things like health and safety.

“It’s terrific for us certainly at a time when we’re trying to work out how we lower the burden on ratepayers of the services we provide. It helps with efficiency [and] it helps with the ability to get people moving through the place quickly.”

The new facility will have a raft of improvements, including separate areas for recyclable and recoverable materials as well as an enclosed refuse drop-off area and dedicated entry/exit weighbridges.

The upgrade will also give Wāhi Tukurua – Mercury Bay Resource Recovery Centre a foundation to develop a community facility.

The facility will officially open for public use on November 10 at 10.30am.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.