‘Stench of death’: Pepperell takes unpermitted composting operation to court over ‘unbearable’ smell

PEPPERELL, Mass. — A neighborhood in Pepperell is dealing with what residents describe as a horrendous smell coming from a composting operation right behind their homes.

For 17-year-old Gavin Santos, his backyard has always been a place to throw the ball around with his friends.

However, this summer, he said he’s barely been able to enjoy it because of the lingering stench.

“It almost makes me want to gag. It’s so bad that it gives me a headache; it just makes me sick,” Santos said.

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Santos and his friend Colin Taylor say the odor has become impossible to ignore, even unbearable at times.

“Sometimes it’ll be hard to be out here, just like playing catch or whatever,” Taylor said.

And it’s not just the kids.

Neighbors like Ali Baninaser said they’ve had to change how they use their properties, keeping windows closed and staying cooped up inside with their families.

“It’s a stench. A stench of death. It’s not like sewage. It’s so bad that you feel it. It hits you in the face when it comes,” Baninaser said. “If I have to be outside, I get dizzy from that smell.”

The town said the source is an unpermitted commercial composting operation behind the homes, where shellfish refuse and other organic material have been brought in.

Bob Palmer put up his drone to see what’s sitting just beyond the neighborhood and what residents said has been producing the noxious odor.

Video shows massive piles of compost with a front-loader moving them and turning them over, part of the composting process.

“In the sense of the magnitude of how much material is actually over there, yeah, it’s crazy,” Palmer said.

According to the town of Pepperell, MassDEP has visited the site, and after unsuccessful attempts to stop the operation, the town issued daily fines and then went to Superior Court.

The town said the owner agreed on July 30 to stop bringing in material and remove what’s already there by Sept. 28.

Though some neighbors are doubtful that things will be cleaned up by then.

“I’d be surprised if we see resolution by the end of the year,” Palmer said.

Boston 25 reached out to the attorney representing the man behind the composting operation, but has yet to hear back.

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