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A $ 17.5 million plan to get rid of the “vulgar smell” that plagues a Christchurch suburb for 10 years is not enough to solve the problem, say local residents and city leaders.
Christchurch city councilors will consider next week a proposal to improve their Bromley compost for two years to control an odor that one local resident describes as smelling like “vomit and corpses.”
Canterbury Environment Councilor Nicole Marshall and Christchurch City Councilor Yani Johanson have called for the construction of a new facility to permanently solve the problem, calling the proposed upgrade a “band aid.”
The city council tried to stop the bad smells earlier this year, but the measures do not appear to have worked.
READ MORE:
* The plan fails to banish the stale stench that plagues the Christchurch suburb.
* City Hall ping for ‘offensive’ odor in East Christchurch
* The source of the putrid gas odor was narrowed to two places
Bromley resident Catharina van Herwaarden said the bad smell that regularly swept through her neighborhood was “getting worse.”
JOSEPH JOHNSON / Things
The Living Earth composting plant in east Christchurch, seen here in January, is the source of a foul odor that plagues the suburb of Bromley.
“How dare the city council let us suffer like this.
“It smells of vomit and corpses. Sometimes I think they have dug a grave. “
The stench was “vulgar” and had never been so bad, he said.
Stacy Squires / Stuff
Bromley resident Catharina van Herwaarden says the bad smell even prevents her from sleeping.
Marshall called for the closure of the plant and the construction of a new facility. The council’s report on the proposed upgrade indicates that a new plant would cost $ 86 million.
“This proposal is not a solution. It just prolongs things. It’s another band-aid on a problem that needs to be solved fundamentally.
Joseph Johnson / Stuff
Council staff recommended a $ 17.5 million upgrade to the composting plant to stop odors.
“When you spend that amount of money, you need to make long-term decisions.”
Bromley residents had suffered from the bad smell, Marshall said.
“They are paying for the city council to make their houses uninhabitable.
“This is a fundamental quality of life issue. The community has been dealing with this smell for ten years. They were here before the plant was here. “
Johanson said the problem should be resolved in less than two years. The council’s staff report says it will cost an additional $ 3.75 million to temporarily shut down the plant and complete the upgrade in five months, instead of two years.
“I don’t think the community will tolerate another two years of this stench,” he said.
Alden Williams / Stuff
The plant is owned by the Christchurch City Council and is operated by Living Earth.
“A regional solution with different technology and further from the coast and residential areas would be a better solution. There is no tolerance in the community for this to continue ”.
The council staff report will be considered by councilors on Wednesday. The report recommends upgrading the composting plant, which is owned by the city and run by Living Earth, to reduce the amount of outdoor area where compost matures from 30,000 square meters to 2,000 square meters and increase the capacity of the systems of aeration for compost.
If the measures don’t control odor, the composting area could be closed at an additional cost of $ 4 million.
