Whangarei Black2Green Plastic waste pyrolysis
Status of the project: under appeal by NRC
August 2026: The Northland Regional Council has decided to appeal the Environment Court decision that this plastic waste pyrolysis facility in Whangārei does not need a consent to discharge contaminants to air.
Background to the project:
Property at 169 Kioreroa Road, Whangārei was observed with emissions by off-duty NRC Consents Officer: discharge was from an unconsented pyrolysis plant used for turning plastic waste into various products
The company behind the project is called Black2Green
Company issued with an abatement notice by Northland Regional Council. The abatement notice has been ‘stayed’ (halted) by the Environment Court pending a hearing on if the company needs a consent.
NBR says the company is seeking to fundraise “$6 million for expansion, which it wants to spend on five more plants on its Whangārei site and a much bigger plant in Huntly.”
The unconsented pyrolysis plant has been processing plastic waste collected by commercial waste management service Replascent which claims to have “Advanced Plastic Upcycling, Right Here in NZ.” The company accepts chlorinated plastics including PVC which are what cause dioxin when subjected to pyrolysis.
NBR reports, “An adjacent synthetic oil refinery on the same site started” is using the outputs from the plastic pyrolysis,” and the synthetic fuels are being sold under the Refueled brand.
Char produced by the pyrolysis plant would be used as a component for low-carbon concrete.
The NBR reported that Gibraltar Private Capital is seeking to raise $18 million for three waste to energy projects - this is one of them
Gibraltar Private Capital’s two directors are suspended accountant Wayne Bailey and lawyer Clive Cousins of Canterbury Legal. Cousins is also a shareholder of Black2Green.
Read our page on “chemical recycling” for media reports on this technology from around the world.
Campaign updates
July 2026: The Environment Court decision is that this plastic waste pyrolysis facility in Whangārei does not need a consent to discharge to air pending an agreement on allowable feedstocks. Northland Regional Council has yet to decide if they will appeal. Read the legal submissions in the case>
June 2026: Awaiting judgement of the Environment Court. The company was issued with an abatement notice at the end of 2025. The company has appealed the abatement notice, and has been granted a ‘stay of proceedings’ in the meantime (that means that the abatement notice is not in effect). Northland Regional Council is defending the abatement notice saying they must apply for a resource consent.
Black2Green’s Warren Sinclair has been banned as a company director for 8 years and 6 months over for allegedly operating without adequately addressing financial pressure and failing to keep related companies’ affairs separate. This relates to his involvement in other, unrelated companies.
RNZ and NZ Herald both reported on the Environment Court hearing in June 2026, saying “Whangārei plastic burning hearing against Warren Sinclair raises questions over NZ recycling reality”