Barrhaven residents raise stink over dump's growing aroma

Some Barrhavenresidents are raisinga stink about a foul odour wafting through their neighbourhood that they suspectis emanating from the nearby Trail Road landfill.

People living in Half Moon Bay, five kilometres northeast of the landfill, say the funk from the waste facility becamemuch more offensive lastsummer, and has lingered over the area ever since.

"It is just so distinct, the smell. It's almost like a chemical, organic smell," said Jennie Esnard, who moved to the area six years ago.

She said she loves everything about her neighbourhood except for the miasma that'ssettledover the community a stench that she says wasn't nearly as evident when she moved in.

"I didn't put two and two together that this dump could affect me," Esnard said.

Heavy rain likely cause

Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder said she's hearing from an increasing number of residents concerned about the smell. Harder said the uptick in complaints over the past six months prompted her to seek answers from city staff.

"It's a concern," Harder acknowledged.

She said the province enforces a buffer zone around landfills where homes can't be built, and the neighbourhood that's become the source of the complaints is well outside that area. According to the Ontario government, the perimeter is about three kilometres from the city-owned Trail Roadfacility.

Marilyn Journeaux, the city's director of solid waste services, told Harder record precipitation is the likely cause of the recent odour.

In an email, Journeaux saidthe extra moisture allows bacteria to thrive, spurring rapid decomposition of the garbage and producing what Harder called"garbage juice." That liquidcreates a smelly gas that sometimes escapes into the atmosphere..

Anti-odour measures coming

This month the city will install a new system around the perimeter of the landfill to capture thegas. It's a pilot project until a more permanent solution is installed.

"I'm not sure it's enough," said Harder. She said if residents don't detect an improvementshe will ask for odour detectors to be set up in the affectedarea.

Harder said residents can help reduce the aroma coming from thelandfill by making use of their green bins, which are emptied elsewhere. She said the more organic waste that goes to Trail Road, the stinkierthe dumpwill get.

In the meantime, Esnardsaid she'll keep her windows closed and burn candles when the stench gets bad. But she said if it doesn't improve, she'll consider moving.