As Fall continues, Kettering citizens since October 24th, 2024 have been complaining about an unpleasant smell. Many people speculate reasons as to why there is such a stench. According to WHIO, they interviewed a Kettering citizen named Danny Marshall who believed the smell is tied to farmers. On the contrary, The Dayton Daily News states, “Farm’s manure spreading is usually a little later…” Thus indicating that the stench can not be from farms just yet.

On the other hand, WHIO staff also report, “Other people believe landfills are to blame” (WHIO Staff, October 25th, 2024).

However, WHIO also points out that the bad smell came from Stony Hollow Landfill for years in Montgomery County. However, the landfill company created a permanent unknown solution to the stench. This rules out the possibility that landfills are the culprit.

So what is the culprit? The Dayton Daily News provides quite a few possibilities from different sources. Eileen Moran is a pollution manager from the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency within Dayton. She states, ‘“Air near the ground cools faster than the air above, particularly at night. The odors become trapped at ground level, this happens more often during the spring and fall when the daytime temperatures are very warm and the nighttime temperatures are much cooler.” (Bishop, October 25th, 2024)

The Dayton Daily News also stated that, Pam Bennett, part of the Clark County Ohio State University Extension Office, suggests the fruit of the female ginkgo trees could also be the culprit. The smell produced by the fruit typically smells like manure, Bennet states.

Although there have been no formal complaints received by officials, people continue to publicly complain about the foul smell. Once the temperatures in Montgomery County stabilize, the odd smell will gradually disappear.