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A Dunedin woman is determined to kick up a stink over her house being enveloped in rancid air emanating from the nearby Green Island landfill.
So offensive was the malodorous air yesterday morning that Green Island resident Tina Tunster was woken from her sleep by it.
Mrs Tunster moved in to the property with her husband nine years ago, but was first moved to make an odour complaint six years ago.
There had been a clear pattern of deterioration in the air quality around her home since the couple made their first complaint, she said.
"It’s the extent of the odour, it’s the amount of times it’s happening, and it’s the length of time that it’s happening now."
The worsening of the situation over time was an indication the Green Island site had reached the end of its useful operational life, she said.
"I’d like it closed. It’s at the end of its lifetime and it needs moving."
When conditions were at their worst, it was impossible to sit in the garden, and laundry could not be hung to dry as it would absorb the stink from the air.
An Otago Regional Council staff member visited their property to check on the extent of the problem on Sunday, but Mrs Tunster said she did not expect anything to come of it.
The regional council did not provide a response to questions yesterday.
Dunedin City Council waste and environmental solutions group manager Chris Henderson said yesterday’s stench appeared to be caused by the installation of pipes for a gas capture system.
"The work requires contractors to dig into old waste material and the odour has proven to be worse than anticipated, in part due to recent wet and very hot weather."
The work had been stopped to allow the landfill’s operator to compact fresh waste in the problem areas.
Particularly smelly loads of waste received at the landfill were compacted and covered, and an odour suppression system was also in place at the facility.
The DCC had received 18 odour complaints so far in 2021.
Mr Henderson said the landfill’s current consents were set to expire in October 2023.
No decision had been made yet regarding its future beyond the redevelopment and expansion of the transfer station and resource recovery park at the site.
A consent application for the Green Island landfill’s presumed successor, a proposed Smooth Hill landfill, near Brighton, was lodged with the Otago Regional Council in August last year.
The regional council decided to publicly notify the city council’s application last month.
The council has allocated $56.4million in its present long-term plan for the Smooth Hill proposal.