Newby Island landfill in Milpitas ordered to reduce foul odors, pollution after years of complaints

By Da Lin

For years, residents in Milpitas, parts of San Jose, and even Fremont have complained about a foul, rotten egg-like smell coming from the Newby Island Landfill near Interstate Highway 880.

Now, Bay Area air quality regulators are ordering the landfill to take new steps to reduce the odor and better monitor emissions.

The Bay Area Air District this week issued four corrective measures aimed at reducing hydrogen sulfide emissions from the landfill. Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas known for its distinctive rotten egg smell.

Milpitas resident Swapnali Shrikhande said the odor can be especially bad on hot and windy days.

“I can smell it now. I would rather not have the smell,” Shrikhande said.

She said the odor can sometimes be strong enough to make her and her husband want to leave the area.

“It’s really pungent, you don’t want to get outside,” she said. “That’s when me and my husband, we plan a trip to go somewhere else.”

The corrective measures are designed to improve the landfill’s ability to collect and control landfill gas, according to Bay Area Air District attorney Omonigho Oiyemhonlan.

“We expect that all of that will lead to reductions in air pollution and reduction in those odor-causing pollutants that people in the South Bay are smelling,” Oiyemhonlan said.  

Among the requirements, Newby Island Landfill must switch from manual to automated controls for its landfill gas collection system to ensure it is collecting as much gas as possible.

The district is also requiring the facility to use drones to detect emissions hot spots, install monitors that provide real-time emissions data and add fenceline air monitors to track how much odor is leaving the landfill and affecting nearby communities.

The landfill will have two years to comply with the corrective measures.

Newby Island’s parent company, International Disposal Corp. of California, said it agrees to the order.

“IDCC will continue working constructively with regulators, residents and local stakeholders to meet those requirements,” the company said in a statement.

Shrikhande said she hopes the new requirements will finally lead to a solution.

“For sure, there’s a solution. We just need to find it,” she said.

While some neighbors are skeptical the smell will ever completely disappear, Shrikhande remains optimistic that a solution can be found. She said she has no plans to move away despite the smell.

“I like the community. It’s a very nice area,” she said.

The Bay Area Air District said it has received thousands of complaints about odors from the landfill over the years. Officials said the facility could face fines if it fails to comply with the corrective measures.