Composting facility in Arizona allegedly giving off foul odor

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - "It's like rancid. I mean, sometimes you have to open the door and it comes in. It's bad. It's really bad," said one Arizona resident.

A scent is hanging over part of the Laveen neighborhood in Phoenix.

"At first, I thought it was my garage...Something died and I looked around, but then when we opened the garage, you could smell it outside and it's gotten a lot stronger," said Liza Merrill, who lives near a composting site.

People living near 35th Avenue and Dobbins Road think the odor is coming from a composting facility operating by Arizona Green Guys.

The owner, Neal Brooks, has said his mission is to keep waste out of landfills by converting organic matter into enriching fertilizer.

"If there's something they can do to mitigate the smell, great," said Jorge Marlopez, who also lives near the composting site.

Not only has the farm received attention from its neighbors in recent months, but also county and state regulators.

An inspection report from September 23 was obtained and an inspector with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) found "brewery smells" and "a strong odor of decay" coming from parts of the farm.

The department advised the facility to stop storing industrial wastewater in a basinwhich they expect will reduce the smells affecting the community.

"We would like them to stop doing it, to be honest. I believe that we need to take care of mother earth and that we want to try to repurpose but when you're this close to an area like ours and it goes, the smell really permeates, I think you have to have consideration for your neighbors," Merrill expressed.

Maricopa County inspectors did not find any air quality issues or public health nuisances, and Arizona Green Guys did not want to comment.