While the southeast neighbourhoods of Calgary's Ward 12 have SO much to offer, there are some concerns residents and busiensses would like to address as well. One issue that intermittently drives us mad are the strong odours that can interrupt an otherwise perfect evening on your patio or force your t-shirt over your nose when you are out for a walk.
Yes that is right. The southeast has some unique smells.
Blamed most frequently is the Shepard Landfill but they have been operating under strict procedures for years. The actual problem is that there are likely multiple culprits.
In addition to the landfill there are:
- The Shepard Biosolids Lagoons where they process waste and turn it into fertilizer
- The Alkali ponds are part of the natural wetland area in the SE and when they are drying out they can put off a particularly pungent odour (people who drive Stoney frequently know this)
- There are the farmer's fields to the East and many of those fields have cattle grazing on them and other agricultural activities that could be a culprit depending on the wind direction
- We also have a state-of-the-art composting facility that is turning our green bin compostables into high-quality compost. The piles of finished product, waiting to be sold and shipped can put off a powerful landfill style stench
As Councillor I would be committed to placing each of these sources under scrutiny and explore better practice and mitigation techniques to ensure our SE noses wrinkle far less.
If the outdoor piles of compost are found to be one of the bigger culprits we could explore alternative methods of storing the finished product before it is sold and shipped as an example.