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An 'unbearable' smell of rotten eggs, which inundated suburban homes for months, has resulted in a record fine for a commercial landfill company in south-east Queensland.
Waste operator Cleanaway has been issued a fine, of more than $600,000, after pleading guilty to seven offences in Ipswich Magistrates Court.
It's the highest penalty ever handed down by Queensland's environmental regulator for an environmental odour nuisance offence.
The company pleaded guilty at the courthouse in Ipswich. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
Cleanaway's New Chum landfill site in Ipswich had been the regular subject of odour complaints for a number of years.
An investigation by the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) explored resident complaints regarding a "rotten egg gas odour" following extreme rainfall in 2022.
Severe flooding across south-east Queensland in 2022 exacerbated the site's odour problems, the investigation found.
South-east Queensland saw significant rainfall in 2022, with residents being impacted by the odour nuisance offences soon after. (ABC News: Alexander Lewis)
The New Chum landfill site was overwhelmed by rainfall at the time, much of which pooled at the site and fermented into a strong-smelling leachate.
The court found Cleanaway had failed to take all reasonable and practicable measures to stop the smell.
It also found the company had committed other offences, including pumping contaminated water around the site and using it for dust suppression.
DETSI Industry Development and South East Compliance executive director Brad Wirth thanked the "many residents" who reported bad odours and provided statements to the department as part of the investigation.
"The impact this operator had on the community was simply unacceptable," he said.
Brad Wirth thanked locals for reporting the smell.
Ipswich council had originally pushed for a public health inquiry into the impacts of the smell coming from Cleanaway's landfill site, as well as other private waste operators.
When calling for the inquiry, Mayor Teresa Harding said the impact on residents had been "horrendous".
"Residents impacted report a range of negative health impacts including headaches, sore eyes and throats, nausea and vomiting, chest pains and respiratory irritation," she said at the time.
Mayor Teresa Harding had previously called for an inquiry into the health impacts resulting from the stench. (ABC News: Victoria Pengilley)
A spokesperson for Cleanaway said the company takes environmental compliance seriously and acknowledges its responsibility to minimise offsite impacts of its facilities.
"Cleanaway acknowledges the impact the odour emissions had on the local community following the mass rain events in 2022," they said.
The company said, since then, it has spent more than $60 million on improvements at the site including storm water management, landfill gas capture, and capping.
More than a third of the penalty amount will go towards community projects under a public benefit order.
Almost $200,000 will be used for upgrades to the Ipswich Nature Centre, one of the city's most popular tourist attractions.
The remaining $22,000 will fund free environmental education activities for children and families.
The Nature Centre in Queens Park is one of Ipswich's most visited public attractions. (Supplied: Discover Ipswich)