How EcoPond™ supports methane reduction
EcoPond™ is a clean, simple effluent‑pond treatment service that reduces an effluent pond’s methane emissions by more than 90%, while improving the pond’s performance.
The system is a mobile, hands‑off dosing service that treats ponds roughly every six weeks with a patented, science‑backed formulation, requiring minimal on‑farm infrastructure.
The service, which is funded in partnership with Nestlé, launched with a 2025 pilot across a small number of Synlait farms who were the first in New Zealand to have their effluent ponds treated using this technology.This pilot helped fine‑tune how EcoPond™ is delivered and those learnings have paved the way for this year’s rollout to more than 250 farms across the country.
36 ponds on Synlait supplier farms have been treated so far this year – receiving a total of 141 doses. That has mitigated an impressive 2,817 Tonnes of CO2e – that’s the same as taking 1,316 cars off the road for a year. We’re targeting to complete a total of 50 ponds on Synlait supplier farms this season.
How does it work?
At the heart of the system is a shift in redox potential – essentially the chemical environment within the pond.
The treatment supresses the methanogens (the microbes that produce methane) and promotes sulphate-reducing bacteria instead. By increasing sulphate availability, EcoPond™ creates conditions that favour sulphate‑reducing microbes, allowing them to outcompete the methane‑producing microbes. Alongside methane reduction, the technology also reduces E. coli levels by 99% and reactive phosphorus leaching by more than 90% while lowering the pond’s odour. Treated ponds also have little to no crusting.
Independent studies have assessed EcoPond™ and shown no negative impacts on pond function, soil biology, pasture growth or grazing behaviour. These studies have also shown that treated effluent performs comparably to standard effluent when applied to paddocks and causes no additional wear to irrigation and pumping equipment.
One of the Synlait farmers who is partaking in the pilot programme, Cam Henderson, said,
“Methane emissions are one of the hardest sources of greenhouse gas to reduce on a dairy farm, and traditional effluent ponds contribute a significant share of those methane emissions. EcoPond™ changes how the effluent is treated, effectively eliminating methane production from the pond. At the same time, it retains all the nutrients in the liquid effluent so they can be recycled back on to the land. That makes it a win for the climate, and a win for farmers.”
More information about EcoPond™ can be found on the EcoPond™ website: https://ecopond.co.nz/