The useful life of Victoria Landfill will be extended by as much as 20% and issues of windblown rubbish will be reduced thanks to the introduction of a massive commercial rubbish compactor.

Transported by ship to Lyttleton, then by road to the Gibbston Valley landfill site, the CAT 836G Compactor has been purchased by the landfill's operator Scope Resources to replace the comparatively tiny CAT 962G machine that compacted the region's waste until now.

Scope Resources co-director Phil Dunstan says the new machine will compact rubbish more efficiently and reduce its volume by 20% and would help with the containment of rubbish at the site.

"Part of the thinking behind investing in this machine is to provide another solution to the problem of windblown waste. This is the model that is in use in the large landfills like those in Auckland because of its ability to get rubbish under control quickly and effectively."

Mr Dunstan says the containment of rubbish at Victoria Landfill had always been an issue because the site acts as a wind funnel.

"We have constructed an eight metre fences with returns and provided spare hook bins so that rubbish can be stored following delivery until the wind dies down. This compactor gives us another option for waste control."

Weighing in at 55 tonnes the compactor dwarfs the previous 20 tonne machine. It features a 5.2m wide blade and is more than 10 metres long and 4.6 metres high. Its engine holds 600 litres of oil and a fill up takes 800 litres of diesel.

"This purchase is a commitment to this community and to our long term contract to run the landfill," says Mr Dunstan whose company has just started the 10th year of its 30 year contract to manage the landfill. "We need to ensure we have the best possible measures in place to maximize the life of the landfill and to minimise its impact."

Scope Resources has also invested in landscaping to ensure a pleasant environment for those who work and visit the site.

Photo Caption: Scope Resources Phil Dunstan and Victoria Landfill manager Kevin Rigg with the new and old compactors