Business, industry and planning guidance

Summary of odour controls


Control Type Description
Site planning and management Physical Addresses your site’s layout and processes, both initially and ongoing
Containment Physical Containing odour-producing sources can lower impact to the public
Odour covers Physical Physical barrier with extraction or odour treating properties
Effective odour-capture system Physical Any system that collects odours from a source; for example, an extraction fan or fume hood
Biofilters Biological/filtration Emissions fed into a source medium containing living material that capture and degrade pollutants
Bio-trickling filters & bioscrubbers Biological/filtration Emissions fed into sponge-like medium containing living material that  captures and degrades pollutants
Carbon filter Filtration Pollutants are removed from air by filtering through activated carbon
Metal sintered filter Filtration Microscopic metal pockets trap pollutants as air is passed through the filter
Metal mesh filter Filtration Filter changes air direction as it passes through it, which traps grease
Stacks Physical Releases emissions high and fast enough in outside air that odours are dispersed
Thermal oxidiser Chemical Using a temperature-controlled environment to chemically change emissions
Chemical scrubbing Chemical Absorb the odour-causing pollutant into the scrubbing medium
Ozone treatment Chemical Ozone reacts with odour-causing particles, chemically changing emissions
Effective microbes Biological ‘Good’ microbes that ‘eat’ odour-causing microbes are added to a medium
Photoionisation Chemical UV light in a controlled environment causes chemical reactions, reducing odours

Note that masking agents such as air fresheners and sprays are not effective methods for controlling odour pollution.

Page last updated on 4 Jun 2019