ORILLIA, Ont. – Polyethics Industries has put together a plan to address the pervasive odour that has raised the ire of neighbours of the Forest Avenue manufacturer.
The company’s production of lavender-scented garbage bags at its plant has led to a noxious smell lingering in parts of the city on multiple occasions over the past year.
Many residents at a meeting between Polyethics, city, and provincial officials earlier this month explained how the odour has impacted their ability to enjoy their properties.
At the meeting, Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks officials said Polyethics had until May 24 to submit an abatement plan for the odour, which the plastic bag manufacturer submitted last Thursday.
Ministry spokesperson, Gary Wheeler, confirmed work has begun to address the odour.
“The company is installing air makeup equipment, designed to prevent the release of odour emissions from the facility. The installation should be complete by May 31,” he said in a statement to OrilliaMatters.
From there, work will begin to start testing emissions leaving the facility, he said.
“Following the installation, the company will develop a pre-test plan to collect emissions samples from the facility. We expect to review the pre-test plan in mid-to-late June,” Wheeler said. “Air sampling of the emissions from the facility will be completed once we have approved the pre-test plan.”
Once emissions testing is complete, a Polyethics consultant will help develop options to further abate the odour — depending on the results of the emissions sampling — which is scheduled for completion by the end of October.
An exact timeline for implementing odour control measures, however, has yet to be determined.
“The timing for the company to implement odour control measures at the facility will depend on whether any additional abatement measures are required to mitigate further odours,” Wheeler said.
The ministry’s compliance policy applying abatement and enforcement tools seeks to “safeguard the public interest by ensuring that our response to an incident is proportionate to the severity of the incident,” Wheeler said.
“Confirmed incidents of adverse odour impacts can lead to potential charges against the company,” he said.
Mayor Don McIsaac said he's happy to see a plan coming together to take action on the odour.
"It's just great to see action taking place. I'm pleased that they're taking the right steps to correct whatever deficiencies there are in the process," he told OrilliaMatters.
"Obviously, residents have a right to enjoy the property, and hopefully these steps, taken properly and on time, will allow them to enjoy those rights."
At the meeting on May 14, numerous residents spoke about the odour; some say they have resorted to keeping their windows closed and staying indoors due to the smell.
“We're talking about just taking a walk with our dog. We're talking about sitting out on our decks. We're talking about having visitors over and that becoming an uncomfortable experience — our lives on almost a daily basis are uncomfortable,” said a resident.
Residents aimed barbs at Ministry and Polyethics officials alike, raising concerns about potential long-term health effects of exposure to the plant’s emissions, and why the issue has not been resolved through either Ministry enforcement or Polyethics action over the course of the past year.
“The Ministry has the right to do something about it. You have the Environmental Protection Act. You have the Ontario regulations on air pollution. Why aren’t you doing something about that?” said a resident.
Ministry, city, and Polyethics officials have met with impacted residents three times since the beginning of the year, with a fourth meeting set to take place on a date that has yet to be determined.
McIsaac said a date for the next meeting will be determined in the coming weeks.
"We'll set that up and then that'll give us time to see if they take any steps on the abatement plan as they're supposed to," he said. "We need to make sure they're following the rules, and the Ministry is happy with their progress, and residents are happy — those are the key things."
Residents have started an online petition demanding Polyethics “end the pollution of the air we breathe.”