The initial pilots have launched!
Five of our pilot test cases have already begun! Click on the location below to find out more about each case study.
How were they chosen?
The pilots were carefully selected to demonstrate the power of citizen science and the ability of the D-NOSES to get results in different settings.
For example, in some cases the pilots focus on different types or odour sources. In Barcelona, the affected area has a long history of odour issues from several waste management facilities concentrated in the area. This has been a growing concern since the municipality tried to revitalise the previously depressed area with new high-level developments and housing. In Thessaloniki, residents are repeatedly exposed to fumes from the nearby refinery, but it was the population that grew around the refinery over the last 50 years. Both these cases show how an accommodation needs to take place as communities and industries develop over time. The balance between industry, economic and social development, city planning, and environmental management is one the we think D-NOSES can help achieve.
Using the sophisticated D-NOSES stakeholder engagement model, the pilot in Sao Joao da Madeira will tackle a persistent odour problem from an animal by-product processing plant. In this case, there have been previous volunteer-based odour mapping projects conducted that unfortunately did not result in any practical improvement of the situation. This pilot should demonstrate that it is not just data that is needed to solve problems, also the positive engagement of all stakeholders is required to find balanced solutions.
But the D-NOSES methods can also be used in other contexts. For example, in Sofia it will help diagnose and explore more cost-effective performance improvements for an already existing municipal program to eliminate odours from food waste around the city. In Porto, the D-NOSES citizen science volunteers will help to track and trace odours that could reveal the sources of pollution in the Rio Tinto river so that they can be stopped and help reverse the environmental damage. Both these pilots demonstrate the flexibility of the approach to deal with a wider range of issues relating to the impact of odour pollution.
Want to take part in a pilot project or have an odour issue in your location you’d like D-NOSES to get involved in? Email us at info@dnoses.eu to get started.
The second Pilot is relative to an animal by-product processing plant that has been causing odour nuisances in the municipality of São João da Madeira, located 1,3 km away from the city centre. The whole surrounding area has been affected, in a radius that extends for several kilometers, depending on the orientation of the winds and atmospheric conditions and has consistently reached other municipalities including Santa Maria da Feira. […]
According to local businesses, the separated bio-waste collection previously introduced to alleviate odour nuisance needs more frequent servicing due to unpleasant odors that develop in between collections. The Municipality, considers this financially inefficient and a barrier to the expansion of the system. With the D-NOSES approach the Municipality aims to measure the extent and impact of the reported problem, so they can then investigate what solutions would be practical and appropriate. […]
The Rio Tinto is one of the most polluted rivers in northern Portugal. This case was specially selected because it can show how odour can be a sign of other environmental problems like illegal discharges. This case will demonstrate how the OdourCollect app can be used to monitor odour as a proxy for other types of pollution. […]
The Region of Central Macedonia (RCM) is the second most populous in Greece after Attica. RCM is also a very important region in terms of economic development producing various agricultural products, hosting industrial activities, services and tourism. One of the refinery plants of Hellenic Petroleum is in the region and very close to the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki, the second biggest city in Greece. […]
The area contains several waste treatment facilities, such as a bio-methanisation integral waste treatment plant, a waste incineration plant, and a pneumatic collection station; plus a covered WasteWater Treatment Plant (currently underneath the Forum Plaza), with a treatment capacity of 3M inhabitants, the biggest in Catalonia; and a wastewater sludge treatment plant. The odour problems caused by these plants are well known in the city, and depending on the time of the day and the meteorological conditions, one can smell fresh wastewater, sludge, fresh waste, decomposed residue or biogas. […]