What Is That Horrible Smell?

The horrible smell along Pine Forest Road near Interstate 10 in Pensacola is coming from a huge pile of fertilizer...fertilizer made from human waste.

"It smells like open sewage," says Terry Lang, who owns nearby Pine Forest Transmission. "If you've ever had a septic tank pumped out, then it's just like you're standing right beside it, that's how bad it is and the more the wind would blow, the stronger the smell is."

Lang says the stench is keeping customers away and making others sick.

"When she got out of the car, before she could make it to the door, she felt like she was going to throw up," says Lang.

APS Waste Services is the company behind the smell. APS collects waste pellets from a local water treatment plant then hauls the fertilizer to the Pine Forest Road location where it will eventually be packaged and sold. Owner Danny Alvare would not talk to us on camera, but tells News 5 he has not broken any laws or violated any county codes.

County officials confirm what Alvare told us. APS is a legal business, but county officials say the odor is a nuisance and have given Alvare until Monday to get rid of the smell. If not, APS could be fined.