Our systems combine building and LEV ductwork, dust filtration, fans and downstream treatment stages such as carbon filters, biofilters and chemical scrubbers, configured to meet site‑specific odour discharge criteria for urban and semi‑urban locations. Each odour control package is sized and selected to reliably remove hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), while controlling energy use and long‑term maintenance costs.
ERG has provided cost‑effective odour control solutions to the waste industry for more than 20 years. Our bespoke packages are designed for each site’s specific requirements to give efficient, safe and straightforward odour control, minimising nuisance odours for staff, neighbours and customers. We can offer an odour control system tailored to your needs, whether you operate a municipal waste or food waste site, treating odours from waste intake halls, sorting and compaction processes, transfer stations, composting plants or anaerobic digestion facilities.
Typical systems located in urban areas include:
Depending on odour loading, available footprint and discharge limits, systems may also include a biofilter or chemical scrubber. Typical odour concentrations at the stack are 1,000 ouE/m³, rising to 3,000 ouE/m³ for highly odorous operations with tall discharge stacks to aid dispersion. Less sensitive locations may have a simpler configuration due to a less stringent odour discharge standard.
In all cases, ERG recommends that the fan is variable speed to allow power saving during nights and at weekends when the site is not operating. This approach provides significant energy savings, as demonstrated by our work with Guernsey’s government, where variable speed odour control saved over £50,000 a year.
ERG provides a comprehensive service:
These municipal waste odour control packages form part of wider air pollution control systems for waste processing and recycling facilities.
We have extensive design capabilities. In addition to straightforward design and build odour projects, our clients can benefit from:
All design and build contracts include a complete set of design deliverables as standard. In all cases, our designs use best practice as described in the Environment Agency Guidance H4 Odour Management.
Existing waste sites are often under pressure to expand capacity and reduce their odour impact on new or established neighbours. ERG can help with defining the available options for upgrading existing assets and the preliminary engineering to allow formal project budgets to be set or released for implementation.
We provide competitively priced design work carried out by our team of graduate and chartered engineers; in each case, the design output and consultancy fee is tailored to meet the needs of the project. Typical deliverables include:
All design and build contracts include a complete set of design deliverables as standard.
Our project management and site staff are dedicated to ensuring each project is completed safely and to the full project requirements. All staff site managers and/or supervisors hold SMSTS or SSSTS certification, and all our staff have an applicable CSCS (or equivalent) card. This provides assurance that municipal waste odour control projects will be delivered in compliance with health, safety and CDM requirements.
You can download and read our case studies and brochures of the range and products. These resources provide additional information on odour control solutions for municipal waste, food waste and related waste processing facilities.
ERG’s clients include major waste companies and main contractors serving the industry. Our municipal waste odour control reference list covers waste transfer stations, energy‑from‑waste facilities, food waste processing and organic waste treatment plants.
Municipal waste and food waste sites typically use building and LEV extraction combined with dust filtration, followed by biofilters or bio‑trickling filters and polishing carbon filters for odour and VOC removal. Chemical scrubbers are applied where higher concentrations of soluble contaminants or ammonia are present, or where more stringent emission limits apply.
Odour discharge criteria for urban waste facilities are usually set via planning conditions, environmental permits or site‑specific odour impact assessments. These define allowable stack odour concentrations (for example 1,000–3,000 ouE/m³) and dispersion requirements, which in turn drive the design of treatment stages, discharge stack height and fan duty.
Variable speed fans are widely used on municipal waste odour control systems to reduce power consumption during periods of lower activity, such as nights and weekends. Provided minimum extraction rates, building air changes and treatment residence times are maintained, fan speed can be reduced while still meeting odour containment and discharge performance requirements.
Industrial gas cleaning/Thermal systems
System Maintenance
Odour control
Plastic-GRP Fabrication