The methane flare station at the RDN landfill in Cedar will be shut down for upgrades for about a month starting on Tuesday, Nov. 12, with surrounding residents expected to notice a stronger odour. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

smelly dump

Stronger smells expected from Nanaimo landfill as flare station receives upgrades

Nov 7, 2024 | 12:13 PM

NANAIMO — South end residents might notice a stronger odour emanating from the regional landfill in Cedar over the next month.

Starting Tuesday, Nov. 12, the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) will be shutting down the landfill’s flare station for upgrades, expected to last until Dec. 10.

RDN superintendent of environmental and engineering services Jane Hamilton said those living around the site will be impacted, but how strong the odour is can depend on weather conditions.

“You can smell it in overcast sort of days, it tends to migrate to lower areas, so it’s like our immediate neighbours and maybe a little further down. I wouldn’t expect it to go any further than people who currently smell it at places, maybe just a little more than normal.”

The flare system works as a vacuum to suction up the methane caused by the decomposing waste, which then gets burned off, and is in operation 24/7 unless maintenance is being performed.

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The flare stations at Nanaimo’s regional landfil is over 20 years old, and upgrades are required to keep it up to code. (RDN)

Upgrades performed by local contractors involve the replacement of the candlestick flare, the ignitor system, electrical panel and applicable software.

Hamilton said the methane being emitted during operation isn’t hazardous to human health, but it is very damaging to the atmosphere via its contributions to global warming.

“It’s 23 times more corrosive to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, so we burn it. It still destroys 99 per cent of the methane through that process.”

Work preparing the flare for upgrades has taken place since June off-site, and staff will be at the landfill daily to monitor the gas system, with three air quality monitoring stations running along the north side of the property.

The province didn’t require landfills to burn methane until 2016, but the RDN landfill has had a flare station since 2002.

“We did it because we live so close to the community, we have immediate neighbours and it was more to be a good neighbour,” said Hamilton. “And a bit of environmental work destroying greenhouse gas of course, but mostly it was to be a good neighbour is how it started.”

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow