Why is the Te Araroa landfill making headlines?

This landfill has a name?
Oh no, it is the name of the town. Te Araroa is a little town on the northern island of New Zealand. About 175 km north of Gisborne.

Oh, must be nice and cute.
It is nice. Te Araroa also means the long pathway. It is also the name of a camping trail.


Why are we discussing a landfill?
Because it started stinking.

Stinking? Like out of the blue?
It was a very old dumping ground in Te Araroa, just beside the mouth of the Awatere river. The river flows through the Gisborne area into the Pacific Ocean.

So what happened?
Awatere actually means fast river. The river started moving into the landfill and washing out some of the garbage that had been dumped there over the ages.

Oh my. And?
Well some of the garbage also flowed into the river. As the garbage got exposed, it started decomposing and the stink spread all over the place. It is methane, the usual culprit.

So what did the town do?
The local people tried to clean up the areas. Later the Gisborne District Council took over. They are trying to wrap up the entire landfill with some erosion-proof fabric. They also build a wall along the river and the sea.

Is that going to solve the problem?
There is a debate around that. Some of the local people want the landfill to be dug up and all the garbage moved out of the area as a permanent solution.

Whoa! That might just lead to greater stink.