Work starts on new organics processing plant in Hornby

The new Hornby plant will be similar to Ecogas' Reporoa organics processing facility near Rotorua. PHOTO: ECOGAS

Work is about to start on a new organics facility to turn food and garden waste into biogas and fertiliser in Christchurch.

Work is about to start on a new organics facility to turn food and garden waste into biogas and fertiliser in Christchurch.

The waste-to-organics processing company Ecogas, of which 85% is owned by Alexandra-based Pioneer Energy Group and 15% by Ecostock managing director Andrew Fisher, is about to start building the factory at a 3ha site at Hornby.

It will replace Bromley's troubled, odorous composting site. Independent commissioners appointed by Environment Canterbury granted resource consent to build the EcoGas plant in August.

Ecogas said the Ōtautahi Christchurch Regional Organics Processing Facility will accelerate Canterbury’s decarbonisation and build energy resilience.

New organics processing plant approved

Ecostock owner Andrew Fisher, left, Ecogas operations general manager Andy Bedford and Pioneer Energy Group chief financial officer Jonathan West. Ecogas is building a new organics processing plant in Christchurch. PHOTO: DAVID BAIRD PHOTOGRAPHY

Due to begin operating in early 2027, up to 100,000 tonnes of organic waste is expected to be turned into renewable energy, biofertiliser, and biomass fuel each year to support local farms and industry.

Due to begin operating in early 2027, up to 100,000 tonnes of organic waste is expected to be turned into renewable energy, biofertiliser, and biomass fuel each year to support local farms and industry.

Staff would be required to carry out daily checks around the plant to detect any smells, and emissions from the plant's combustion units would be regularly monitored.

Ecogas chief executive Peter McClean said in a statement this week the project will deliver lasting benefits for Canterbury.

Household, commercial, and industrial organics collected from throughout the region will be processed at the site into natural substitutes for imported synthetic fertiliser and coal.

Digestion tanks will process wetter materials, including kerbside collections, while greenwaste with more fibre will be run through a biomass processing line.

The design includes four large tanks with space set aside for a fifth tank and the biomass line is being built with additional capacity to take incoming waste above normal collections.

An artist's impression of the planned EcoGas plant being built in Hornby's industrial zone. Image: Supplied

Land use consent was granted by the Christchurch City Council in 2024 and resource consent approved by Environment Canterbury last August for Ecogas to discharge contaminants into the air with conditions including no offensive odours or airborne deposits outside the site.

Land use consent was granted by the Christchurch City Council in 2024 and resource consent approved by Environment Canterbury last August for Ecogas to discharge contaminants into the air with conditions including no offensive odours or airborne deposits outside the site.

The Christchurch site follows Ecogas’s Reporoa facility in the central North Island, which processes 75,000 tonnes of organic waste each year into renewable gas and natural fertiliser.