Compost-type odour monitoring
We regularly respond to reports from the community of compost-type smells in the Bromley area. This page shows our latest monitoring information including the number of reports we’ve received and any actions taken.
Reports
The following graph shows the number of compost-type odour reports we've received via phone, email, Smelt-it app or Snap Send Solve over the past six months.
Business hours of the compliance team are 8am-4.30pm, Monday to Friday.
After hours means weekdays outside of business hours, as well as weekends and public holidays. During these times, only serious events are attended.
Incidents
The following graph shows the number of recorded compost-type odour incidents over the past six months. We use reports from the community to inform our record of when incidents occurred.
Recorded incident means one odour discharge event. There may be many reports from the community that all relate to a single odour event/incident.
Attended incident means incidents that were attended by a warranted compliance officer. Not all attended incidents will result in the officer detecting odour as conditions may have changed.
Substantiated incident means that a recorded incident was attended by a warranted compliance officer and an odour was detected at the reported location. Once an officer has substantiated a reported incident, they carry out a 10-minute assessment to determine if the odour is offensive and objectionable. Not all substantiated incidents meet the threshold of being offensive and objectionable.
Outcomes
The following graph shows the outcomes of our investigations into substantiated incidents of odour with compost-type characteristics over the past six months.
Verified but compliant means the warranted compliance officer smelt something but it did not meet the threshold of offensive and objectionable. I.e. a recorded incident has been substantiated and a 10-minute assessment conducted, but it was not considered offensive and objectionable. Therefore, the incident was not a breach of consent conditions or the Resource Management Act (RMA).
A notice of non-compliance means the warranted compliance officer substantiated an odour and conducted a 10-minute assessment where it was found to be offensive and objectionable. The notice is a confirmation that, in our view, consent conditions or the requirements of an abatement notice have not been met. It informs the alleged offender of the consequences of breaching the RMA.
An infringement notice is a written notice of an alleged infringement offence under the Resource Management Act, issued in accordance with the Summary Proceedings Act. An infringement notice requires the payment of a fee of an amount fixed by regulations. Payment of the fine does not lead to the recording of a criminal conviction. An infringement notice can be issued for an alleged breach of an abatement notice. Infringement notices are suitable for responding quickly to relatively moderate offences that do not warrant prosecution.
Note that more than one infringement notice may be issued for a single odour event/incident.
Monthly summaries
October 2023
Our warranted compliance officers spent 4.25 hours responding to three compost-type odour reports in Bromley. The average response time was 15 minutes. Odour was not detected on any of these occasions. The remainder of incidents weren’t responded to due to the unavailability of warranted compliance officers at the time – our officers must prioritise their work in relation to environmental incidents.
September 2023
The warranted compliance officer spent two hours responding to reports of compost-type odour in Bromley during the month of September. The average response time was 45 minutes, with two reports attended. Odour was not detected on either occasion.
August 2023
Our warranted compliance officers spent 1 hour responding to compost-type odour reports during August. The response time to the one report that was attended was 7 hours. Odour was not detected. The longer response time this month was due to challenges with staff availability, including illness within the team.
July 2023
Our warranted compliance officers spent 4.5 hours responding to reports of offensive and objectionable compost-type odour in Bromley, taking on average 0.5 hours to arrive. Odour was not detected on any of these responses.
June 2023
Our warranted compliance officers spent 45 minutes responding to a report in Bromley, taking 2.5 hours to arrive. Odour was detected, but not at offensive and objectionable levels.
May 2023
Our warranted compliance officers spent 9.5 hours responding to reports in Bromley, taking on average one hour and 10 minutes to arrive at the complainant’s location. Compost-type odour was detected at three of the 3 incidents attended, but not at an offensive or objectionable level.
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