Do you smell rotting garbage? Ward 3 residents asked to describe worst smells in new survey

Some call the smells wafting out of Hamilton's industrial bayfront an odour salad."

Rancid popcorn. Rotting garbage. Burning rubber. Sewage. A metallic tang.

The ingredients are all hard to stomach - but also hard to pin down in an olfactory landscape full of steelmaking, soybean processing, composting, scrap shredding and fat rendering.

That's why Ward 3 Coun. Nrinder Nann is asking her residents to share their odoriferous experiences in a survey she hopes will help sniff out problems - and also emphasize the real impact" on resident health and well-being.

We can't just ignore the problem," said Nann, who had already been fielding more odour and air quality complaints to her office. When odour gets to the point that you can't enjoy the comforts of your porch, your backyard, your balcony, then you're moving out of a nuisance ... to odour pollution."

The survey results could be used to approach local businesses about better odour control or pinpoint issues the city itself can investigate, like smelly sewers or - gulp! - issues at the municipal compost plant.

Identified problems could also be brought to the attention of the provincial Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, which has the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute businesses for odour pollution.

The province routinely fields between 150 and 220 odour complaints per year. (To make such a complaint, call the local district office at 905-521-7650.)

By comparison, the Ward 3 survey has already been filled out by about 200 people in a single week - with lower city residents outside the ward clamouring to participate, too. (The survey is for Ward 3 residents, but Nann said she will forward outside responses to neighbouring ward councillors.)

The survey asks residents to outline the type, time and impact of chronic odours" they experience, along with any suspected source, said Kerry Le Clair, who is co-ordinating the survey with help from a Niagara College student in environmental management. You can fill out the survey online until April 5.

The neighbourhood environmental activist, who recently fought a planned sewage sludge processing plant over odour fears, said she views the survey as a tool to help separate out the sources of the odour salad."

It can be frustrating for residents who complain but don't see anything being done," she said. We're hoping this (survey) empowers residents."

The survey got a boost from the weather last week when a temperature inversion trapped local pollution near the ground for nearly two days. Le Clair said the bad air triggered a landslide of responses.

Sean Hurley said the heavy, burning" or cigarette-type odour that descended on his neighbourhood was brutal" and impossible to ignore - even for a guy with not the best sense of smell."

Sometimes we jokingly call that the Hamilton smell,'" said Hurley. But really, it is not something we should just accept as normal or get used to ... I'm glad there is an opportunity to draw attention to the problem."

For Kayla Lauzon, the worst odour is a metallic" smell that routinely invades her new home in the north end of the Crown Point neighbourhood.

We knew moving close to industry to expect some discomfort," said Lauzon, who relocated during the pandemic. But (last week) we didn't even have to open our windows, I was struggling to breathe, it was that bad."

Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com