Introducing Gareth James
The Gareth James Energy Park is named in recognition of the enormous contribution of Gareth James the Transwaste Director who had been involved in community waste management for over thirty years since the search for a suitable site for a landfill began in the 1990s.
Gareth, a civil engineer by training, was the Manager Services at the Waimakariri District Council, with responsibility for all the district’s infrastructure and community services, when in 1991 the Resource Management Act (RMA) brought in new environmental requirements forcing the closure of the old-style rubbish dumps. Gareth took the lead when Canterbury councils formed a joint committee to plan for managing the region’s waste. He travelled overseas to study first-hand how the best regarded landfills were developed and managed, to ensure Canterbury developed the best engineered and environmentally safe landfill.
By 1995 many of the councils in Canterbury had discovered the cost of providing new high-quality landfills wasn’t affordable for their ratepayers. The solution was to be an innovative partnership bringing together the councils of Canterbury and the waste management expertise of the private sector in a pioneering joint venture called Transwaste Canterbury Ltd, to develop a single landfill for Canterbury. A search for a suitable site began and once selected the Kate Valley Landfill opened on time and on budget in 2005. The modern engineered landfill which safely manages community waste without harming the environment is a massive environmental improvement from the 50 or so unsafe dumps previously used by Canterbury communities.
Gareth was appointed General Manager of Canterbury Waste Services (CWS) which ran the day-to-day operations at the Landfill. Under his watch the systems used by the Landfill, such as containerised transport, were designed, developed and successfully operated. Gareth advocated extracting additional value from the solid waste handling and disposal process, by using captured landfill gas to produce electricity. That led to the development of the Gareth James Energy Park.
From 2010 until 2021, when he retired, Gareth was General Manager South Island for WM New Zealand Ltd, which is a 50% shareholder in Transwaste. Gareth became a director of Transwaste in 2010 a role he continued until June 2024.