'Open bin smell' in Haywards Heath: College Road residents complain about odour near waste depot

Two residents said they have told Mid Sussex District Council and their contractor Serco about an odour coming from the site on Bridge Road Industrial Estate.

But they feel the issue is not being addressed properly.

The District Council responded to say they are working with Serco to ‘minimise any odour and noise’.

Jo Smith, 58, said: “Every day I come home from work and I go in the garden and all I can smell is rotting rubbish.

“I think it’s got worse in the past two years, a lot worse.”

Jo is also concerned about noise at the depot.

“If you’ve got the windows open you can hear this constant noise of the trucks moving around from about 5am,” she said.

Geoff Audis, 52, thinks the smell is caused by rubbish trucks and is worse in hot weather.

He said: “It’s like whiffs of that coming across pretty much on a daily basis whenever the lorries are brought back to the depot.”

He said: “I don’t understand why they park there when there’s a refuse site in Burgess Hill that they could park trucks at overnight.”

MSDC deputy leader John Belsey said: “I would like to reassure the residents of College Road that we are working in partnership with our contractor Serco to minimise any odour and noise at our waste depot on the Bridge Road Industrial Estate.

“The depot has been in operation for many years and acts as a base for the vehicles that provide our essential waste and recycling collection service for residents right across Mid Sussex.”

He said Serco deodorise collection trucks daily and give them a deep clean on Saturdays.

He continued: “It is clear from residents’ feedback that this hasn’t been enough to prevent smells reaching nearby properties during the recent hot weather, so Serco is purchasing an extra mobile deodorising machine, which sprays a protective foam over the trucks after cleaning to further reduce the issue.”

Mr Belsey said the council carries out monthly odour monitoring and would take further action if required.

He said collection crews sometimes start at 5am in ‘extremely hot weather’ but try to keep noise to a minimum.