Ward 4 candidates want smelly compost facility moved out of the east end

Sam Merulla says if he's reelected, he'll be aggressive in pushing to have a smelly composting facility moved right out of the east end. And the city, meanwhile, is looking for some easier options.

The Ward 4 incumbent pushed to have the Central Composting Facility at 1579 Burlington St. E. temporarily shuttered in June. It came after the stench wafting from it sent residents running indoors and shutting their windows tight.

The facility is still closed. Merulla says he wants it moved to a less populated area of Hamilton. If reelected Oct. 22, he'll keep pushing for that.

"I've never wanted it where it is," said Merulla, who's been on council for 18 years. "I've never supported the location from day one. Everything I warned would occur has occurred."

The problem started in 2016. That's when the province passed new regulations saying compost needed to be maintained at 40 per cent moisture when cured. Residents of the Grenfell Avenue noticed a stronger stench coming from the 12-year-old facility.

The city is still waiting for provincial approval to install carbon filters, which should ease the problem. The money is in place, the city says, but regulatory approval is not.

In the meantime, workers are scrubbing the facility clean, said Emil Prpic, the city's manager of recycling and waste disposal.

"We're going through our investigation to see what the root causes and odours were."

The city owns the facility, and Aim Environmental Group operates it. That 15-year management contract expires in 2020.

Merulla wants to scrap the contract and bring the operation in-house. Prpic said next year, as the contract is negotiated, is the time to look at that.

As for its location, "that's a much broader conversation that needs to take place."

Rod Douglas, a Ward 4 resident running against Merulla, also cited the compost facility as an issue in the ward. He suggested somewhere out by the airport as a better place.

"If it had to stay where it is, install the carbon filters."

The facility causes too much noise too, he said. "There are a lot of issues in this area, but to understand the noise, you literally need to come to the area."

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