A Review of October Odor Complaint Data
Northville, MI - November 7, 2019
The Conservancy Initiative has compiled the odor complaint information for October 2019 and has updated the charts on our Website.
A Word about the Data
We have made every attempt to “scrub the data” by removing the following:
· Complaints made by internet trolls - believe it or not, on rare occasions, this has occurred
· Complaints attributed to other sources - e.g. the odor complaints attributed to “Consumers Energy” (natural gas venting) in early October 2019
· Multiple complaints from the same address on the same day Valid complaints are limited to one per household per day
When Making a Complaint
Advanced Disposal definitely uses the odor complaints to track down issues. They have been known to perform drive-by visits at many of the complaint sites as part of their odor investigation process. The most important information in the odor report is the time and location of the odor and the odor characteristics if possible (smells like trash, gassy smell, etc.). Symptoms and odor strength are really more of a personal reaction (everyone will be different) and they necessarily won’t help ADS eliminate the odor.
This Month’s Graphs
· Trend of Monthly Complaints - Note the trend is actually increasing
· Year to Year Comparison of Monthly Data
· # of Days with 10 or more / 15 or more complaints - This graph makes the assumption if 10 or 15 households are making a complaint there must be a problem. This graph is concerning, as the last 3 months are trending badly in the wrong direction
· # of Days with Zero Complaints - This graph shows that complaints are only being made when odors are being detected
Final Thought
If you think you can help our efforts in any way, please contact one of the Conservancy Initiative Directors. One of the easiest ways to help is by making a contribution. You can contribute by using this link to our PayPal account or by sending a check to P.O. Box 722, Northville, MI 48167. The Conservancy Initiative is a Michigan environmental nonprofit 501c3 corporation.