Residents furious over smell from Tamala Park Landfill affecting Clarkson, Kinross, Burns Beach and Mindarie

Residents near Tamala Park’s waste site in Perth’s north have reached boiling point over complaints of an overbearing odour, with a community meeting held last weekend to address the issue. The site has been in operation since 1991 and services about 800,000 residents, but this year there has been a significant increase in complaints over a lingering smell affecting residents mainly in Clarkson, Kinross, Burns Beach and Mindarie. To add to the issue, new residential estate Catalina Green is being built less than 1km from the site. The site services the cities of Joondalup, Wanneroo, Stirling, Perth and Vincent and the towns of Victoria Park and Cambridge. Each of those member councils have representatives on the Mindarie Regional Council, which manages the landfill site. Mindarie Regional Council has attributed the worsening smell on the landfill nearing its end-of-life, with the waste gradually filling the pit and bringing smells closer to the surface. Sunday’s meeting was organised by Joondalup and Wanneroo councillors Lewis Hutton, Adrian Hill and Phil Bedworth, with about 350 people attending. Mindarie Regional Council chair Cr Stephanie Proud said the council was pleased to speak directly to residents at the meeting. She said the information received from residents helped the MRC minimise odours and she encouraged locals to continue to report smells. “With the landfill now reaching the end of its operational life, the active tip face is sitting higher on the landscape than before,” she said. “This means the odours are more easily blown off-site and into the surrounding residential areas — particularly in very rainy or windy weather, as was experienced in July and August. “With new developments of homes and businesses now only a few hundred metres away from our site boundary, it is inevitable that some people will experience odours from Tamala Park in the future. “However, through a thorough review of our odour management strategy — and a considerable increase in spending and resources to tackle this issue — we are confident that we can control odours at levels below those experienced over the winter.” Cr Proud said the site was expected to close in 2028 or 2029 before it would be rehabilitated and managed for long-term safety and amenity. Mindarie Regional Council did not provide specific details on how it would alleviate the odour when asked, but noted it had provided an outline of its revised odour management strategy to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and was awaiting a response. In a statement to PerthNow, DWER said the regional council took steps such as deodoriser sprays and increasing the level of cover applied to incoming waste. DWER said it had received 1197 odour complaints about the Tamala Park Landfill so far in 2024, a significant increase from 110 complaints 2023 and 52 in 2022. Noting the figures include complainants and households that have made multiple reports. Most of the complaints were from residents in Kinross, Clarkson, Mindarie and Burns Beach. “The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation regulates Mindarie Regional Council’s operation of the Tamala Park Landfill under the Environmental Protection Act 1986,” a department spokesperson said. “DWER continues to conduct odour patrols of the area and has been analysing data received from the community to inform its ongoing response to this matter. “While the department is engaging with MRC in relation to the closure of the landfill, it is not aware of any definitive closure date for site. The current operating licence for the premises is due to expire on 20 July 2030.” DWER said it had engaged with the Department of Health to ensure the community was protected and encouraged residents to report odours to help inform mitigation strategies. City of Joondalup CEO James Pearson said the city was aware of the issue which was “negatively impacting” nearby residents, including those in Kinross and Burns Beach. “Member councils are working with the MRC to ensure all available options to control the odours are investigated in a timely manner,” he said. The City of Wanneroo declined to comment. Residents can report odour issues to the MRC on 9306 6303 or here. Reports can also be made to DWER, with residents encouraged to report at the time odour is occurring by calling the Environment Watch Hotline on 1300 784 782 or using the online reporting tool.