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Orange County residents near smelly landfill to get relief in September

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Residents near a smelly landfill in east Orange County may have to wait until September for relief.

Nearly two-dozen residents met Wednesday night to discuss the next steps in clearing the air.

County officials said the smell may get worse before it gets better as crews install gas wells to ease the problem.

Digging into the landfill means more of the odor could travel into residents’ homes.

“About four to five times a week, the smell lingers in our house,” said resident Tracy Jackson. “Once it’s there, it stays there for hours.”

He and about 20 others listened in to Solid Waste manager Kim Becker on what the county is doing to control the smell.

“I know they’re making their efforts and trying, but to me, I’m not really satisfied because I’m not seeing the results,” Jackson said.

Crews installed some gas collection wells last month.

They placed liner the size of 26 football fields around the landfill to help control the odor.

Next month, 23 more gas wells will be installed, but leaders say the source of the smell, which is the construction garbage mixed with regular trash, has not been fully covered just yet.

There will be a layer over it in September.

The county spent $116,000 on five new gas monitors to make sure the odor is not at a dangerous level that could make people sick.