Charlie Dimech has had to block all his house ventilators to keep out the noxious smells he says which emanate from a nearby mushroom farm.

“Sometimes the sickening smell wakes us up as early as 6 a.m. when it finds its way into the house... we’ve been putting up with this for years now,” he said, standing on the roof of his house overlooking the Chadwick Mushroom Farm.

Mr Dimech, who lives in an area known as Tas-Salib in the limits of Rabat, is among 47 people who have signed a petition sent to their local council, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and the health and safety authority some months ago.

Complaining they had not heard from the authorities, the families turned to the media to try and solve the problem that plagues their daily lives.

When asked about the matter, a Mepa spokesman said this week the environment watchdog initiated enforcement action for breach of permit conditions related to vapours and odours emanating from the open activity being carried out on site including the waste run off.

Mepa also asked the operator to apply for an environment permit to ensure that responsibilities and obligations, such as management of waste and appropriate storage of materials, are met.

Chadwick Mushrooms owner Saviour Gauci said he used the latest system that produces the least smells possible. Before he started using this system the smells were 100 times worse.

“It’s a farm and having no smells at all is impossible. We are making compost here,” he said, adding that when he built the farm there were no houses in the immediate surroundings. In the petition, initially sent in July last year to the council, the signatories said the farm was causing daily inconveniences and those living in the vicinity complained that they could not open a window because the smell made their stomachs churn and infiltrated their homes.

“We are not saying this farm should close down but the owner should take all necessary measures to eliminate the smells so that we can start living a normal life like everyone else. This is our right.” Mr Dimech, who spearheaded the petition, explained that he was brought up in the area as his parents lived there. The owner of the farm had bought the land from his grandfather and the farm started off as a small one, some 30 years ago. Over the years, it grew and the smells became unbearable, he said.

“I cannot even hang the clothes outside at times because they stink of manure,” his wife said.