“I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord,”
This is the theme song of Baringa resident Sarah Lockhart every evening when the sun goes down.
Ms Lockhart is one of many Aura, Little Mountain and Bells Creek residents who are sick of the stench of the Pierce Road landfill filling their homes at nightfall with a sickening stench.
When Ms Lockhart first moved to the area in October 2022, she put the smell down to fertilizer.
“Every night there was this smell and I was trying to crack the case – what is it?” she said.
“Was it fertilizer because they were finishing the gardens at the roundabout?
“The first night I smelt it, I was so shocked people weren’t running out on the street because there was a major gas leak – it smelled like gas.”
It was only when Ms Lockhart visited the Pierce Avenue landfill site that she and her partner figured it out.
“We both looked at each other and said – it’s that smell!”
Now, the Lockhart’s rush home before the sun goes down to shut the doors and windows.
The gaseous smell usually carries on a northerly wind and has been worse throughout the winter months.
“It’s always after dark and overnight, we know if it’s going to happen as the sun sets and race to shut the glass doors and windows,” she said.
“It feels like it pools in our bedroom through the night and wakes us up – it’s definitely getting worse.”
But according to the Sunshine Coast Council, we could be putting up with the stench for at least four more years.
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said The Caloundra Landfill was not expected to reach capacity until 2028, however, “this depends on the amount of waste disposed at the site”.
“After this time, Nambour Landfill, at Cooney Road, Bli Bli, will be the only remaining active landfill on the Sunshine Coast,” the spokesperson said.
“Odour from landfill operations is minimised by covering the tip face each night, capturing gas to generate renewable energy and flaring the remainder.”
But if you enjoy “the dump” being handy, don’t despair – the future can be just as convenient and much less stinky.
“When the Caloundra Landfill closes, the Caloundra Resource Recovery Centre, Bulk Haul Transfer Station and Recycle Market will continue to operate,” the spokesperson said.
“So residents can conveniently return a variety of items for repurpose or resale as part of Council’s strategy to move to a circular economy and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
“Please visit Council’s website for a comprehensive directory of items that can be recovered and recycled at the Resource Recovery Centre.”
