When it comes to foul odors being emitted from the Smiths Creek Landfill, officials believe the worst is now behind them, but admit that more work is needed to permanently address the problem. During a tour of the facility Tuesday, Landfill Director Matt Williams explained where the smell is coming from and why it became such an issue as of late.
“What people are smelling is hydrogen sulfide,” said Williams. “One of those reasons is that our collection efficiency dropped off a little bit over the year last year. That’s on us for not being better on top of that and making it better as it happened. We’ve since corrected that,” said Williams.
He says another reason for the smell is that the active area of the landfill seems to be producing more hydrogen sulfide at higher concentrations than normal. “We’re currently evaluating different waste streams that have come in and where they were placed out there to identify where it’s coming from.”
In the meantime, a temporary flare to burn the excess gas is up and running. Williams further states that he plans to ask the County Commission to purchase a permanent flare with even more capacity. That meeting will take place Thursday evening at 6pm at the County Administration Building in Downtown Port Huron.
Pictured above: A temporary flare is currently operational and is being used to burn off gas.
Pictured below: A compactor moves trash around the active area of the Smiths Creek landfill.
