Understand
Communities turn to technology to tackle industrial odours and landfill smells
Overview
Residents in tech hubs and cities worldwide are increasingly relying on technology, data-driven monitoring, and electronic noses to track, measure, and resolve persistent industrial odours and landfill smells.
Key points
- Milpitas residents near the Newby Island landfill hope new drones, chemical monitors, and automated gas collection will reduce chronic odours.
- Urban sprawl has brought residential developments closer to industrial sites, increasing the demand for odour-monitoring technologies.
- Industrial odour solutions typically involve absorbing, chemically converting, or burning away target compounds, though some operators rely on cheaper masking deodorisers.
- Authorities in Des Moines, Iowa, invested in a ring of odour monitors and weather stations to pinpoint the sources of local meat processing smells and eliminate finger-pointing.
- Experts note that traditional human olfactometry is subjective, making electronic noses and continuous data collection a more reliable way to manage environmental smells.