Chinese-owned Waste Management has been given overseas investment office approval to buy one thousand hectares of land in the Dome Valley to build a landfill, north of Auckland.
However a group of protesters have banded together to form a 'fight the tip, save the Dome' group and are actively opposing the move.
“In China, they are stopping landfills now, so why is that same company, based in China, happy to come put a landfill on our land?" says group member Michelle Carmichael.
Land Information minister Eugenie Sage told 1 NEWS approval was given because of the benefits the landfill offers.
Auckland's current landfills are nearly at capacity and population growth means another one is needed.
Waste Management managing director, Tom Nickels, says around 70-100 jobs will be created through the initiative.
"You won't see the landfill, you won't smell the landfill, you won't hear the landfill, local community, local neighbours won't even notice it's there," Mr Nickels says.
However, locals are concerned that hazardous waste from the landfill could end up in the Hoteo River which runs right through the middle of the proposed site.
"Battery acid, rotting rubbish, who knows what will be coming down that stream, it goes into the Hoteo River, it goes into the Kaipara Harbour, which is one of the largest snapper breeding grounds in New Zealand," says Lee Laughton who owns land near the site.
Tom Nickels disagrees, but the company still needs resource consent from Auckland Council and the community are vowing to stop that in its tracks.
"I'll keep fighting," Mr Laughton says. "Waste Managment are going to be stuck with me."
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