Yesterday was a gorgeous day in East Brunswick. The temperature was in the low 80s, it wasn’t humid, and the sun was shining. But the best reason it was so beautiful outside was because it didn’t smell. On this day, I didn’t detect any nasty odors from the Edgeboro landfill/dump area.
As a fairly new resident of East Brunswick, I cannot get used to the fact that some days it smells like someone dumped rotting, fishy garbage on my front (or back) lawn. And also, as a fairly new resident, I am not yet going to ignore the smell. So I call the Middlesex County Public Safety and Health Department, Environmental Health Division, to “report an odor,” and the inspectors do actually come to your home. Imagine that.
Most times the wind has shifted and it no longer smells, but the very nice inspectors continue to encourage me to complain because it takes three complaints to issue a violation to the dump. And most times — always — I am the only person who has complained. I cannot be the only person who smells this. Having lived in Brooklyn and Staten Island for most my life, I’ve never had the luxury of living in a place where I didn’t have to get the entire city involved in an issue. And I really appreciate these types of personal services, but the inspectors have their hands tied unless there are at least three complaints.
So, people in East Brunswick, please if you smell anything other than fresh grass and summertime, please call and report it to the Environmental Health Division or the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office. It can only improve our beautiful community.
Jane Adamchuk
East Brunswick