Chicken supplier Ingham’s fined for ‘incredibly bad’ stink at Osborne Park abattoir

Chicken giant Ingham’s has copped a $25,000 fine after a diabolical stink emanating from its Osborne Park abattoir forced nearby residents to complain to the environmental regulator. Officers from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation attended the Baden Street processing plant after the smelly problem was reported to Pollution Watch in December 2021. Incensed locals described the reek as “severe”, “unbearable” and “incredibly” bad according to DWER. “DWER attended the site, inspected the premises and detected strong intermittent odours,” a department spokesperson said. “The odour was identified by Inghams to have resulted from a blocked outlet valve on a wastewater tank.” The smell was deemed “unreasonable” and Inghams was charged under the Environmental Protection Act. This month, the company pleaded guilty in Perth Magistrates Court to “emitting an odour” but avoided the maximum penalty of $125,000. “Ingham’s has since invested $14.5 million to replace the existing wastewater system with a new wastewater recycling and treatment plant with an odour control system,” DWER said. Ingham’s is Australia’s biggest poultry provider and supplies brands such as Woolworths, KFC and McDonald’s. It employs hundreds of workers at the Osborne Park site.