After rotting food from a Boyle Heights warehouse fire ended up at a Simi Valley-area landfill, authorities say they started to field complaints about foul odors in a nearby community.
The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District looked into those complaints earlier this month, sending inspectors to the Madera Road landfill and the neighborhood. On Aug. 24, the district issued a notice of violation to the Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center, citing a "putrid odor" from dumped food waste.
The source of the waste was the Lineage Logistics warehouse fire in Boyle Heights, according to the document sent to Waste Management of California, Inc. The odor was consistent with the descriptions in complaints submitted by residents in the Big Sky
community, located to the east of the landfill, the inspectors said.
The air pollution control district determined the odor was a public nuisance and ordered the landfill, operated by WM, to resolve the issue. The facility also was required to advise district officials what steps it will take to do so.
The district's database listed 17 odor complaints received from Aug. 8-18 related to the Simi landfill; all showed a notice of violation as the outcome. An additional half dozen odor complaints submitted since then are listed as pending.
According to WM, food is a common component of municipal solid waste, and food waste from the warehouse fire was a small percentage of materials accepted daily at the local landfill. The operator listed several methods used to help reduce odors, from covering the waste to onsite misting designed to neutralize smells.
Lineage officials reported that all of the food was removed from site of the Boyle Heights fire as of Aug. 29. The Simi landfill is not expected to receive any additional food waste from there.
Simi Valley officials said they also were aware of the odor concerns regarding the landfill, which is located in an unincorporated area outside of the city.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Rotting food, foul odors lead to violation notice for Simi landfill
