Big if over whiff

By Melissa Grant
A SMELLY situation in Pakenham has seen residents lodge 12 complaints to Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority in the past four months.
Residents and businesspeople are again holding their noses because of a stench emanating from Pakenham’s industrial area – and the complaints to EPA Victoria have centred around the Pakenham Waste and Recycling Transfer station in Drovers Place.
Michael Porter, owner of Signarama Pakenham, was unable to pinpoint the stench but said it smelt like fertiliser.
“It’s been ongoing for quite some time and I’ve been reporting it to the shire to find out what it is,” he said.
Mr Porter, also president of the Pakenham Business Group, said the smell was so bad sometimes it could be smelt indoors.
“It’s uncomfortable – you have to live and breathe putrid smells,” he said.
“We have to shut up the workshop to stop the odour coming in.”
EPA Victoria has investigated 12 reports in the past four months regarding odour from the Transpacific Industries Group site at Drovers Place.
An EPA spokeswoman said Transpacific Industries Group, the operators of the waste and recycling transfer station, had since proposed a number of measures.
She said the EPA expected the works would be completed in the coming months.
A spokesperson for Transpacific Industries Group management said there was a smell emanating from a compost facility at the Drovers Place site and that the issue was being dealt with.
He said the company had plans in place and had recently secured capital to fund them.
“We’ve been dealing with the council and EPA trying to address this for some time,” the spokesman said.
The smell previously made Gazette headlines in January 2008 when the owner of Cahill Heavy Haulage was considering shutting up shop because of what he described as a sickening stench.
In March, the Pakenham Waste Transfer and Recycling station was in a stink after it was found it had breached 11 permit conditions following a council audit.
In November, residents reported smells around Pakenham coming from Drovers Place but were unable to pinpoint the main offenders.
Cardinia Shire spokesman Paul Dunlop urged people concerned about a smell to contact the council on 1300 787 624. He said it was important they took note of the date, time and wind conditions and described the smell as accurately as possible.