Dozens gather to protest Stoney Creek landfill after months of ‘rotten egg’ smell

Dozens of people gathered outside of a landfill site in Stoney Creek today, calling for it to be shut down. Residents who live around the dump say the smell has been unbearable for too long.

A group of fed-up residents — some wearing masks, one even wearing a hazmat suit — chanted what they want to happen to the GFL Stoney Creek facility.

“We want the dump shut down,” one resident said.

“We want this ended. This month alone in October we have had over 400 reports about the smell.”

That smell was noticeably present in the air today. It’s been described by residents as similar to cat urine, rotten fish, and chemicals.

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“You can’t walk your dog, you can’t go for a stroll, you can’t enjoy the outdoors,” said a passerby.

The culprit of the stench is the leachate treatment pond at the landfill. Leachate is the liquid from trash that drains from the dump.

The group today marched from the Heritage Green Sports Park near the landfill to Upper Centennial Parkway.

Ward 9 Coun. Brad Clark was there in support.

He is asking his fellow councillors to ask the Ford government to direct the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks to begin the process to shutter the site.

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“I get complaints from residents who are experiencing nausea, sort throats, migraines, headaches,” Clark says.

“The ongoing exposure to hydrogen sulphide gases in the air is really impacting the health of folks.”

Clark says it’s not just residents who suffer daily. The smell is having an impact on housing value, and he says the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board was told by the Ministry of Education it could not approve a new school at a nearby site, saying it is “unsuitable” for children.

“The kids can’t come outside to play, they can’t really interact, we can’t enjoy just even a moment outside,” a protestor said.

In a statement to CHCH News, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks says “in response to ongoing odour complaints…it has imposed provincial officer’s orders, environmental penalties, and charges.”

It adds environmental compliance officers continue to attend the site regularly.

CHCH News reached out to GFL for comment but they have yet to respond.

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