City of Hamilton set to take Stoney Creek landfill to court over infamous stench

The City of Hamilton is preparing to take a Stoney Creek landfill to court in connection with the infamous stench that is impacting residential areas.

Councillors voted unanimously Wednesday on a motion to have the city solicitor take the matter to the superior court, and fight for the dump to be shut down until the odour is gone.

The operator of the east end landfill, GFL Environmental Inc., has faced many orders and fines from the Ontario government, but Hamilton councillors also voted to formally ask the Ford government to expedite a closure at the facility.

From the landfill to Hamilton City hall is where Stoney Creek residents, impacted by a notorious, smelly odour, took their support to have a nearby dump shut down.

“If you ever walked into somebody’s house, who has a lot of cats and never changes the litter — that’s what comes into our homes, windows closed and all,” said Kathleen Taylor, someone who is calling for action against the GFL Landfill. “Our houses fill up with that.”

Taylor says she and others living near the GFL Environmental Facility on Green Mountain Road, endure headaches and burning sensations in their eyes, nose and throat due to the ongoing stench in the area.

“We haven’t been able to enjoy our homes —it’s gotten pretty bad,” said Taylor.

WATCH MORE: Stoney Creek residents continue living with landfill stench, still not receiving answers

This past summer, residents were informed by the dump’s operator that a malfunction due to its leachate system and drainage liquid from landfill materials, was the cause of the intense stink.

However, they say issues have persisted and grown over the last few years, which prompted a Stoney Creek councillor to take the matter to the council chambers.

“We have complied with provincial law, but the challenge is something changed as of April 2023,” said Brad Clark, the City Councillor for Hamilton’s Ward 9. “When we woke up to a rotten egg smell that was rolling across upper Stoney Creek, impacting every home and it didn’t go away.”

During Hamilton’s General Issues Committee meeting, councillors discussed and eventually unanimously voted in favour of two motions from Clark, who says there have been more than 1,500 complaints to date.

One is to direct the city’s solicitor to request the Ontario superior court to shut down the site for up to two years or until the smell is gone.

The other motion is calling on Premier Doug Ford and his government to allow its environment ministry to close the landfill.

“I’m asking here, that we take the risk and use the royalties (landfill royalties) rather than taxpayer dollars, to actually try and force this company and the ministry to fix the problem,” said Clark.

Royalties are the levies collected by the city from landfills.

CHCH News have reached out to the GFL asking for comment about the legal action against them, but have not received a response yet.

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