A recently completed walkway along the Raglan Harbour has resulted in some of the exposed fibres becoming dislodged.
Some of the polypropylene fibres have been found along the walkway, on the rocks near the boat ramp adjacent to the Police Station on Wi Neera Street.
Shotcrete, a high strength concrete with the 50mm additive polypropylene fibres in the mixture, was applied to strengthen the seawall and extend its longevity during safety improvements to the walkway.
The completed walkway was opened to the community before Matariki weekend. Council was alerted to the dislodged fibres by a member of the public on Sunday 22 June.
Council swiftly responded and an investigation into why this happened was launched – this is ongoing. Whaaingaroa General Ward Councillor Lisa Thomson and Chairman of the Raglan Community Board Dennis Amoore have been updating and advising the community on the situation and cleanup.
Specialist crews responded on Monday 23 June and have been monitoring the situation daily. The clean-up included manually scrubbing the seawall and manually removing dislodged fibres.
To prevent further fibres entering the environment, the walkway will be closed to blow torch the exposed fibres, melting them into the concrete. The dates for these works are to be confirmed – noting we need dry weather. Burning the fibres poses no health or environmental risks, nor will it result in further fibres entering waterways.
While regrettable, the number of fibres that have entered the harbour will be minimal. The fibre is made of polypropylene, has low toxicity and is BPA free. While no plastic should ever be in the ocean, the composition of the fibre is worth noting.
This type of concrete application has been used for decades and stabilising it with polypropylene fibre reinforcement is common alongside marine environments.
It is unusual for the fibres to become dislodged from the seawall and the shotcrete application.
Project Manager Niall McGrath said “It is regretful this happened after a successful completion to the walkway. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will update the community as information becomes available.
“Plastic in the environment is never acceptable. It is unusual for the fibres to become dislodged from the seawall and the shotcrete application. Council continues to work with our designer and contractor to further investigate this, to mitigate further fibres coming out and to install confidence in the community that the walkway and the moana is safe.”
Councillor Lisa Thomson said “We take any pollutants entering our moana very seriously and reacted as the community would expect of us. We are gutted this happened. We will continue to work diligently to remove any further risk.”
The walkway opened in time for Matariki weekend and the school holidays.
