Napier, MSCNewsWire, 16 March 2016 -  Westport’s Solid Energy Centre has now been booked for the wake for the old cement works mid year closedown. But an extraordinary possibility has surfaced in which the doomed Cape Foulwind cement factory might be repurposed – and saved.

The cement factory in which generations of West Coasters have worked is now owned by Lafarge Holcim. France’s Lafarge acquired Swiss Holcim last year.Now another French company, and one just as well established in New Zealand, is evaluating converting the cement factory into a waste processing plant.

This other French company is Veolia which in New Zealand runs municipal transport and utilities that include Wellington’s water treatment and Auckland commuter transport.

At first glance Veolia’s acquisition of the Cape Foulwind cement works looks like adding up, making sense. It is a short step from cooking limestone the ingredient of cement to cooking detritus.

Such a repurposing of the old Cape Foulwind works would relieve Lafarge Holcim of the remediation work required to sanitise the site.

It would give Veolia an almost shrink-wrapped waste re-cycling site.

Also, in the current mood there would be little concerted dissatisfaction from Westport residents. They have been campaigning for years to retain the cement factory.Their retention campaign was as vociferous as was the one to keep the cement works away from the east coast of the South Island during the long mooted scheme to re-establish it near Oamaru.

Waste minimisation, as it has become known, has become more of a problem in the South Island than is generally realised.  For example, the Ashburton District Council is contemplating a scheme to cope with its rubbish that would see rates rise by 11 percent.

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