North Aucklanders and members of local iwi have protested in Auckland against plans for a new rubbish dump.
The company behind the proposal says the tip has to go somewhere but protesters say it's right on top of the Kaipara Harbour's water catchment.
A small but vocal group is refusing to accept the findings of Auckland Council to allow a landfill to be built.
"It's not just about us, it's about wider New Zealand. And if it can happen here, it can happen anywhere in New Zealand that a waste company wants to go and dump on a waterway," says Fight the Tip executive member Michelle Carmichael.
Dome Valley, south of Wellsford, is where Auckland's rubbish could end up being dumped.
A plan from Waste Management would see 60 hectares filled, although the council's imposed 400 conditions.
But protesters fear any breach in the dump's lining could spill poison into the Hoteo River - that could flow to the Kaipara Harbour.
"You can look at Singapore where they've got turning waste into energy for their city but we should be employing those same measures here by finally more ecological ways of disposing of waste," Save Dome Valley organiser Will Heron says.
Waste Management says it wants to work through concerns constructively and it points out there are many people who have never visited a modern landfill and confuse these with the dumps of old. It also confirmed its commitment to reducing Aotearoa's carbon emissions.
On Saturday several environmental groups and iwi protested against the proposed landfill site. They're heading to the environment court where submissions for an appeal end on Monday.
But it could be many years before a final decision's made.
