Ravenhall tip protesters have disputed that only 600 complaints have been received about foul odours coming from near Boral’s landfill site in recent months.
As reported online, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) said it had received almost 550 complaints from Brimbank and Melton residents about odours; 460 complaints were received in March and 86 in February.
An EPA spokeswoman said there had been 50 community reports of “odour issues’’ in Caroline Springs in April, but there were ‘‘a number of possible sources for this odour”.
The complaints come as the Melton council assesses Boral’s application to extend its operations by 179 million cubic metres.
Former Sunshine councillor, Stop The Tip campaigner and Deer Park resident Marion Martin questioned the EPA’s figures. “It can’t be correct; it would be heaps more,” she said. “I’ve reported to the EPA 17 times in two weeks, and there are 40,000 people living in the area, all smelling this foul stench. A lot aren’t sure where it’s coming from.
“It’s got worse at times. One night my husband’s lips went numb and tingly.”
The EPA has urged Boral and Pinegro composting to fix the cause of odours as it experiences a “significant increase” in reports to its pollution hotline. It warned fines could be imposed.
“Odour investigations are complex and detailed, because of the transient nature of odour, and the need to have an authorised officer confirm its presence in the field with the reporting witness present,” the spokeswoman said.
“We detected occasional odours near residential areas. Of 175 odour checks we have detected no odour 144 times, weak odour 16 times and strong odour 15 times.”
