A controversial B.C. facility that has been the subject of thousands of smell complaints is shutting its doors for good.
For years the smell coming from tens of thousands of tonnes of composting food scraps at the Harvest Power Facility in Richmond has been prompting criticism from those who live in the area.
"There's a real human cost here," said Arnold Shuchat, who's involved in a campaign called Stop the Stink in Richmond.
"It was at the expense of human beings and families that live in the area."
Shuchat said the stench from waste heaped on the property was so bad that people put towels under their doors and had to keep their car windows shut.
But recently residents of the area affected by the smell heard some good news: Harvest Power announced that instead of spending millions of dollars required for an air quality permit, it would instead wind down the composting operation altogether.
The company told CTV News the decision had nothing to do with odour complaints, and that they'd previously worked hard to address them.
"We've made huge progress. The frustration is about not being able to find a path with the regulatory process," spokesperson Stephen Bruyneel said.
Data from Metro Vancouver indicates there were 2,694 air quality complaints attributed to the east Richmond facility in 2016, that number went down to 1,396 in 2017. So far in 2018 there have been 506 complaints with Harvest Power as the main suspect.
Harvest Power had been working on the air quality permitting process with Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which Harvest Power has a long term lease with for the east Richmond facility.
“It’s a very complicated process,” Bruyneel explained. “And very difficult to get some certainty out of it.”
The company will stop collecting the organic waste causing the smell sometime early next year. The short term plan is to sell compost at the site after they stop accepting new material.
"You could see it coming for some time. Harvest Power had to decide if they wanted to make a major investment and enclose those piles that were outside, or would they go some other route? They decided not to make that investment," said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
"I think there's a sigh of relief. Now we know the problem will be eradicated."
Much of the waste collected is due to the Metro Vancouver initiative to cut down on organics and food scraps ending up in the garbage. Data from Metro Vancouver indicates organic waste being processed jumped from 150,000 tonnes in 2010 to 400,000 tonnes in 2016.
When Harvest Power closes, the waste it would usually process will instead be diverted to other facilities including those in Delta and Surrey.
"I'm told there is ample capacity throughout the region to take the organics left behind by Harvest Power," Brodie said.
Shuchat said he will continue to watch what unfolds over the next few months, but says he would like to see a timeline laid out in writing.
“We’re encouraged that perhaps the evil of the smell may be subsiding,” Shuchat said. “We want an end to the nauseousness that comes from there.”
Shuchat says concerned residents will also be monitoring areas around the other facilities, making sure the stench simply isn’t being moved to other areas.
“It’s still our garbage, we gotta get rid of it,” Shuchat said.”I think most people would agree we want a sustainable solution.”
Graphics used in this article are from Metro Vancouver. They can be viewed at a larger size by clicking the link.
