The composting facility Ellsworth is suing for violating its odor ordinance has continued to rack up smell complaints in recent months despite ongoing litigation.
The complaints are the latest chapter in a years-long saga over the stench emanating from Maine Organics on Industrial Road. Since last year, the city’s code enforcement department has fielded dozens of odor-related complaints from the company’s neighbors, prompting a string of violations against the composting facility.
The complaints have become more frequent, and the odor described as more intense, in recent months, according to Sara Devlin, deputy city manager.
“We actively manage all odors at our compost facility to minimize any odors from the seafood waste materials we process,” the company’s owner, Joshua Wellman, told the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday. “Our facility is regulated by the DEP and remains in compliance. We continue to work with the City to identify all solutions to minimize odors. The compost produced at our facility is nutrient-rich and created from organic materials that could otherwise end up in a landfill.”
In a March complaint filed in Ellsworth District Court, the city alleged the company violated Ellsworth’s odor ordinance on multiple occasions during the 2025 summer. The ordinance was adopted in March 2025 after a consent agreement between the city and company proved futile.
Timothy Pease, Ellsworth’s legal counsel, requested a status conference in court in late August after the parties were unable to reach a settlement, according to court documents. That hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Wellman’s attorney, Janna Gua, of Katahdin Law in Bangor, confirmed the matter is still pending but declined to comment further.
The Ellsworth City Council plans to discuss the legal procedures during its Monday meeting in executive session, after which it will hold a public hearing on the facility’s compliance with the odor ordinance, Devlin said.
“The purpose is to allow the Council to receive appropriate legal advice, hear from affected residents and businesses, review the current circumstances and determine whether additional action by the City is warranted,” Devlin said. “In the meantime, anyone experiencing odor impacts should continue reporting them to the City’s Code Enforcement Office and the Maine DEP so those incidents can be documented.”
The city ordinance limits commercial and industrial entities from emitting “noxious or offensive odors” that could pose health risks or interfere with the use or enjoyment of a nearby property for an extended period of time.
The city previously said its code enforcement department had received 64 community complaints about the odor last summer, ending in three citations. Robert Grant, the city’s code enforcement officer, referred the matter to legal counsel when the smell continued to linger, which neighbors say it has done since the facility’s opening in 2018, following those citations.
The smell has previously been described by one neighbor as akin to an “unkept rat cage crossed with sewage.” Part of the facility’s composting process involves locally sourced shellfish waste, which produces the foul odor.
The company tried amending its compost recipe and work hours to mitigate the smell, Wellman previously said, though the complaints continued.