AVALON PARK, Fla. – Neighbors in several east Orange County neighborhoods sounded off at a meeting Wednesday night, demanding a solution to what they said is a stinky problem.
Avalon Park residents are just some who said the Young Park landfill in Orange County is emitting an odor and affecting their daily routines.
"I have to open my garage door after the smell has dissipated for 30 minutes to get the smell just out of the garage," Dave Payne said. "So it even permeates closed garage doors. That's how bad this smell is."
"It's like rotten eggs, like poop decomposing," said one neighbor, Millie Martinez.
"It permeates your skin," Payne said.
More than 2,000 homes within the 5-mile radius of the landfill are within the complaints area.
"Like, I mowed my yard with a bandana over my mouth," Kerry Connors said.
"I cut the grass and go back in," another neighbor, Tomm Pita, told News 6.
Jim Becker, of the Orange County Solid Waste Division, told the group they are working on short-term and long-term solutions.
"I empathize and understand what the problem is, and I wish we could fix it overnight, but it's going to take some time, but it's going to get fixed," Becker said.
Becker blames 15 inches of rain in August, a growing landfill and a mixture of waste with construction demolition. They have since begun separating the two waste types to help the odor.
Becker also said they have installed misters, initiated closing of a section and hired a consultant to evaluate the odor situation.
The county plans to meet with residents again in six weeks.