Finally spring has arrived and hopefully that infernal rain will stop. This is the time of year that I love to shut off all ventilation in the car and roll down the driver’s window to get as much of that clean fresh spring air as possible.
I did just that coming back to Tsawwassen from White Rock this week but all didn’t go quite as planned. As I drove past the two dairy farms on the south side of Highway 99 the car filled with the smell of fresh manure. Not unbearable but it does remind you that we live in an agricultural area and that is what comes with having fresh dairy products. It’s just part of nature that we share with animals in our living environment.
Proceeding west I could see the top of what I call “Mount Vancouver” which I do out of consideration for those who contributed to its construction. Actually it’s known as the Vancouver Landfill but I have no idea why. What it was meant to “fill” was done a long time ago, but they keep going higher and higher.
Even if you don’t notice the mountain, if you have your windows down you will know exactly where you are. The smell of garbage depends on many things — the wind, how hot it is, etc. — but there’s no question you are passing a garbage dump, and there is a good chance your window will go up.
There are a couple of particular times of the year when the smell from the landfill is particularly nauseating. Three and four days after both Thanksgiving and Christmas, when hundreds of thousands of turkey carcases arrive, even closed windows in your car won’t help you.
So I have passed the landfill and now I’m heading south on the South Fraser Perimeter Road toward Tsawwassen, but first I have to get past the compost sod farm east of Ladner. There is no possible way you can drive past this location with your windows down, and I would imagine there are folks who speed up and try to get past while holding their breath. This odour varies but most times a gagging response is involved when you pass by.
I have the deepest sympathy for homeowners in East Ladner who simply want to enjoy an evening in their backyard but can’t because of this stench. We have been told that compost will now be coming from Richmond as well, which might change how things smell but it certainly won’t improve it.
One would think in a community that has laws regarding noise, smoke and other issues that prohibit the enjoyment of one’s private property that something has been overlooked, ignored or simply rubber stamped to allow this putrid operation to be located so close to people’s homes.
As people start to knock on our doors to promote themselves for the fall election I hope all the good people of South Delta, both Ladner and Tsawwassen, will ask them what their position is going to be on the source of this stench.
So much for the fresh spring air. It’s windows up, air conditioner on and more air fresheners. Welcome to South Delta.
Greg Hoover is a project manager in industrial and commercial construction who has lived with Christina in Tsawwassen for 25 years.
