As at time of placing geocache on 1st December 2024 access IS ALONG THE BEACH ONLY. This may change in the near future.
The Waitaki District Council formed Project Reclaim in late 2022, after it learned three historical contaminated land sites were in danger of slipping into the sea. This included two fly-tipping sites on Beach Road near Awamoa Road, about three kilometres south of Oamaru, and the closed Hampden Landfill.
The closed Hampden Landfill is a former Municipal Solid Waste Landfill that was in operation from 1970 until 1996. In that time, it is estimated it received around 30,000m3 of waste. The closed Hampden Landfill site is located at the eastern end of Stafford Street, next to the beach.
The closed Hampden Landfill has been subject to coastal erosion exposing previously buried waste, with some waste washing out onto the beach. This meant remedial works were needed to prevent any further exposure of waste and contamination of the beach. The works included removing part of the buried waste and the placement of a rock rip rap slope (1:3) extending from the toe of the landfill onto the beach.
Waste removal began in June 2024 and the Waitaki District Council was given approval from the Otago Regional Council to remove the waste to the Palmerston Landfill. The extraction phase wrapped up in November 2024 with close to 48,000 tonnes of waste removed from the closed Hampden Landfill and more than 19,000 tonnes from the sites at Beach Road.
As at time of placing geocache on 1st December 2024 access IS ALONG THE BEACH ONLY. This may change in the near future.