Following public outcry about a pervasive scent emanating from Polyethics Industries’ Forest Avenue plant, the company is taking steps to get the odour under control, said a recent memo to city council.
As per the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP), Polyethics has undertaken source air testing and modelling, and has submitted an odour abatement plan to the province following this work.
Though the plan is under review by MECP, it’s expected to address the odour impacts in the neighbourhood – which residents have described as a strong “perfume” smell – and to include a timeline for implementation.
Polyethics has also submitted a building permit application for a “high bay extension and alteration to the north side of the existing building,” city staff reported.
The company has been given a conditional building permit for the work, contingent upon an odour abatement plan getting approved by MECP by June 30, 2025, and the company obtaining an MECP-approved environmental activity and sector registry for the high bay extension.
The issue has been subject to several public meetings with Polyethics, MECP, and city staff, with some residents saying that the scent – a byproduct producing lavender-scented garbage bags – can be so strong on some days it prevents them from enjoying their properties.
No timeline for implementing the odour abatement plan was given in the memo.
Polyethics Industries did not respond to a request for comment.
