Odours

New Rules

Environment Canterbury has prepared a plan (Proposed Canterbury Natural Resources Regional Plan, Chapter 3: Air Quality) aimed at maintaining and improving air quality. The plan also covers odours.

Odours from activities that were established after June 2002 should not cause any offensive or objectionable odours beyond the boundary. If they do cause odours beyond their boundary, they should locate in areas where these odours do not cause any offensive or objectionable effects.

To prevent or minimise odour effects from existing activities (that were established before June 2002) Environment Canterbury promotes the adoption of best practise and discourages sensitive activities to locate near odour sources.

Sources of Odours

There are many sources of odour in the Canterbury Region including:

• intensive indoor farming such as piggery and poultry farms 
• pulp and paper manufacturers 
• meatworks and rendering plants 
• skin and hide processes such as tanneries, fellmongeries, and wool-scourers 
• stockpiles of organic waste on farmland 
• commercial composting operations and landfills 
• wastewater treatment plants and the spray irrigation of effluent 
• commercial food processing and preparation 
• agrichemical spray operations 
• domestic sources such as composting and house painting

Health Effects of Odours

Normally odour is not associated with a direct health effect, but more associated with personal stress and annoyance, which in turn may manifest itself as a health effect, such as headaches or nausea.

Odours are caused by mixtures of chemical compounds. Each person reacts to odours differently. One person may object strongly to an odour while another is not bothered by it.

How much an individual reacts to odours depends on five factors, called the "FIDOL" factors:

F = Frequency of the odour
If the frequency is often, a person may become more annoyed by the nuisance event than if it was less frequent.

I = Intensity of the odour
A pleasant odour can become nauseating if the concentration becomes high enough such as a spilt bottle of perfume in a car.

D = Duration of the odour
A very short duration of an odour does not annoy to the same extent as an odour that is around for a longer period.

O = Offensiveness of the odour
Offensiveness is a subjective rating of an odour’s ability to cause annoyance. The smell of baking bread will be less offensive than the odour coming from a pig farm.

L = Location of the odour
Some odours may be more acceptable in some places than in others. Effluent application in a rural area is generally accepted but may be considered objectionable in an urban area. Problems can arise where incompatible activities are located near one another, e.g. existing intensive farming operations next to lifestyle blocks.

The FIDOL factors are used to determine whether an odour has caused an offensive or objectionable effect beyond the boundary.

Pollution Hotline

If you would like to report any pollution please call the pollution hotline on 03 366 4663 (Christchurch), 03 688 3320 (Timaru) or 0800 765588. The pollution hotline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.