Parts Of Calgary Smell Like 'Sour Garbage' & The City Can't Seem To Figure Out Why

Summer for most people means spending more time outside, however, residents in southeast Calgary are contending with a "sour garbage-like" mystery smell and the city is investigating.

The smell has been found in communities in Southeast Calgary including New Brighton and Copperfield and the issue has been persistent over the last few years but so far a cause hasn't been found.

Evan Spencer, the city councillor for the area, said the "sour garbage-like smell" is "in full force" in the southeast this summer.

He added there is an assumption the smell is coming from the nearby Shepard landfill but the City has been assured many times that it isn't the source.

"The City is again investigating what the source and cause of the odours are in the area, what they are connected to and what might be done," he added.

According to Spencer, the Shepard Waste Management Facility and Calgary Composting Facility have passed "strict regulatory checks and balances" to make sure odour is mitigated.

Measures put in place included increasing the strength of the solution being used by air scrubbers, reducing the amount of finished compost stockpiled at the site and reducing how often fresh compost is handled

Spencer added there were a few things identified as possible causes, including agricultural and livestock operations and alkaline wetland ponds scattered around the area.

"The odours that come off the wetlands can be particularly pungent as they dry out," he said.

Some Calgary residents even took to Reddit to try and work out what was going on, since the city doesn't have any firm answers.

One Reddit user asked: "What is that smell in S.E. Calgary (Copperfield)? Hot Garbage maybe?"

"I do not remember it smelling this bad in the past," another added.

For now, the smell might be lingering on for a little while longer.