Cranbourne tip smell: SBI Inert Landfill nightmare continues
The EPA has avoided a clash with angry Cranbourne residents over a foul stench coming from a landfill by changing a public meeting at the last minute.
South East
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Droves of outraged residents in Melbourne’s southeast have come forward to share experiences surrounding a foul smelling odour drifting from the controversial landfill.
In a dispute that has been ongoing for the past two weeks over the stench emanating from the SBI inert landfill in Cranbourne, residents were told they could meet with agents from the Environmental Protection Authority on Friday July 8, from 3pm to 5pm at a local Woolworths store.
In a move that has further angered the Cranbourne community, the EPA changed the meeting time with no effort to inform residents.
This comes after dozens of residents contacted Leader with their stories on the experiences they are having with the smell coming from the landfill.
Young mum Jess Dickinson told Leader her family had not been home for a number of weeks due to her child receiving chemotherapy, but that her husband had been experiencing a sore throat and sinus symptoms after sleeping in their home.
“I haven’t been home much, but my husband has been coming home every night,” Ms Dickinson said.
“We’ve lived in Cranbourne for eight years and this year his sinus symptoms have been shocking. Now we know why.”
Another angry resident, Tal Blackburn, said her children have been experiencing similar symptoms to Ms Dickinson’s husband.
“It’s not the smell as much that bothers me, but the effects that it’s having on everyone,” she said.
“The smell has evolved over a few months, and I have noticed that my kids are sick constantly. The community has been talking to each other and we are all experiencing the same things, so we’ve definitely made that connection.”
Ms Blackburn is one of the only residents to have had direct contact with the EPA, and she said it claims the smell has no long term effects.
“They keep saying that the smell isn’t causing long term effects, but my kids keep having asthma attacks and giving them steroid treatments to help with their coughing,” she said.
“It’s heartbreaking to lock our kids up again after the last two years, and honestly it’s gotten to the point where I have started looking at (other) properties.”
Cranbourne West’s Melanie Ryan said she had been looking for different ways to resolve the issue.
“I’ve contacted Slater and Gordon to see if they’ll take up our fight,” she told Leader.
“There is an endangered bandicoot that runs through the area, and if the smell is making us sick, I can’t imagine what it would do to local wildlife.”
A resident who didn’t want to be identified has told Leader they have seen waste in the landfill that shouldn’t have been there.
“Look I’ve seen it with my own eyes and reported it before,” they said.
“Kangaroos and all sorts of birds are hopping through the site after hours, I can’t imagine the kind of damage this would do long term to them and to us.”
The rotten egg smell has been reported to be hydrogen sulfide, with the EPA claiming there is no long term damage to exposure to this gas.
Casey Council has released a blanket statement to the public and media, stating “council is liaising closely with the EPA to ensure they are aware of the community’s concerns and that the site adheres to permit regulations”.
The SBI Landfill Facebook and Instagram pages have been deactivated, while a public statement issued regarding the smell has remained up on the website and unchanged since July 5.
More to come.
gemma.scerri@news.com.au
