Rochester, NH residents want to know what's causing foul smell at Turnkey Landfill - WGME

Rochester, NH residents want to know what's causing foul smell at Turnkey Landfill | WGME

ROCHESTER (WGME) – Residents of Rochester, New Hampshire want to know what's causing a foul odor that they say is coming from the Turnkey Landfill.

The 1,300-acre Turnkey Landfill in Rochester contains more than 20 million tons of solid waste.

The gases from that waste are used as fuel, creating enough electricity to power 7,000 homes and the UNH campus, but it also comes with a foul odor.

"You can smell it,” neighbor Edwina Plaisted said. “It's not too offensive, but it can be depending on the humidity and the rain and the wind."

"One in a while, we walk out the door and say, ‘Wow, I'm glad the windows aren't open in the house,’ but it goes away," neighbor Erla Abbott said.

This year, the odors have gotten worse.

Waste Management blames much of the odor problems on the heavy rains we've gotten this year: nearly 48 inches of rain as of September. They say every time there's heavy rain, they see a spike in the number of complaints.

"We are also aware of an uptick of odors, quite a few, as of late," Waste Management Director of Operations Steve Poggi said.

Waste Management's director of operations told the Rochester city council why so much rain is such a problem.

"It generates gas and accelerates landfill gas," Poggi said. "It floods out collectors, the wells."

Several neighbors and city councilors raised concerns about the impact of methane and other gases on their health.

"Is there any safety issue related to that smell?” Rochester City Councilor Tim Fonteneau said. “Is it safe? We’ve got emails from people saying they go outside, they smell it, they run back in the house, shut the windows."

"Folks have been there 30 years,” Poggi said. “And there’s been no safety concerns. And we’ve done studies that show there’s no safety concerns."

Poggi says surface emissions, tested four times a year, are at safe levels.

"I was hoping it's not toxic," Plaisted said.

Waste Management has already spent $1.5 million on new collector pipes, lines and wells to trap the gases.

The company plans to spend another $2.7 million on more collector pipes and more than 15 acres of heavy membrane to prevent the gases from escaping.

"This is something the company is concerned about. We know residents are concerned about it. And we're not going to step back until we've addressed it," Poggi said.

"Well, I hope it fixes the problem," Abbott said. "For whoever it's bothering. It hasn't bothered us."