Waimangu/Rainbow Mountain: 6-month pyrolysis trial with tyres & plastic
Status of project
This trial was completed in mid-2024, and has failed its air emissions testing. In June 2026, the director of that company, Rob Ofsoski was fined $84,000 for a leaking waste heap associated with his Te Puke scrap metal business (that presumably was the source of the ‘flock’ that was being used in the pyrolysis trials). The council told the judge the offending was serious and involved “deliberate and persistent contraventions” with obvious risks poorly managed over several years. The business has now been relocated to the Rainbow Mountain site.
Background to the project
Rainbow Mountain Renewable Energy received resource consent in 2022 for a six-month trial of a waste pyrolysis plant at 216 SH38 Waimangu (just south of Whakarewarewa). In simple terms, pyrolysis is a process of applying heat to waste (in this case tyres and plastics) in the absence of oxygen. The materials decompose producing gas, oil, tar, char and wastewater. The company intends that these trials form the basis for a full consent application. We have written to the Regional Council, District Council and Impacted Iwi about this trial to raise our concerns about it. You can see the
Campaign updates
Chronological from most recent
October 2024
This trial is now completed, and has failed its air emissions testing. We have written to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council seeking confirmation that this trial is in breach of its conditions. You can read our full letter here. You can read the Bay of Plenty Regional Council response here>>
We also wrote to the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in June about the use of synthetic diesel from the pyrolysis process by Oji Fibre Solutions as is indicated in the consent application. MBIE has responsibility for diesel fuel standards. This syn-diesel has not been tested nor approved for use in New Zealand. Here is our letter outlining our concerns and a response from MBIE that we finally received in October.