Private Hokitika dump site used for asbestos
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A site just north of Hokitika is being used to dispose of demolition material, including asbestos, from a fire damaged former Greymouth school, the West Coast Regional Council has confirmed.
The old Greymouth Intermediate School has been struck by two fires, the latest in June, with a 1960s brick classroom block and 1970s-era fibro-lite clad buildings either gutted or very badly damaged.
Hokitika contractor Henry Adams started demolition on Tuesday for the owners, Mawhera Incorporation.
After the regional council became aware demolition had started it visited the school site, given the risk of hazardous material and how it might be disposed of, council consents and compliance manager Colin Helem said.
The contractor had confirmed demolition material was being carted to their authorised disposal site near Hokitika.
"The site is authorised to receive material that may be contaminated with waste containing asbestos," Helem said.
Henry Adams had held a consent since 2017 to dispose of approved demolition material at a Keoghans Rd site, near Hau Hau Creek and just north of Hokitika.
The site had previously been mined by the contractor.
Helem said a council compliance officer visited that site and established the operation to dispose of demolition material there was compliant with the consent.
"It has been inspected and there is no issue there."
Helem noted the demolition was likely to be complex due to the fire damage masking the type of material in the structure, including the presence of asbestos.
It meant the contractor would wet down material as it was being removed, he said.
The former school site has appeared increasingly neglected since Greymouth High School sold its Karoro Learning Centre about 2015 to private provider Frontline.
Frontline closed and vacated the site in July 2017 and tenure of the old school then reverted to Mawhera as the landowner.
* Public interest journalism is funded by NZ on Air
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.2% Summer
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36.3% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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