Central Mass. company fined $250,000 for ‘rancid’ odors affecting residents

A company in Grafton will pay up to $250,000 for violating state environmental laws, in part by emitting “rancid” odors that affected residents more than four miles away, Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office announced Wednesday.

FeedBack Earth Inc., a for-profit food-waste recycling company, was accused of violating the Massachusetts Clean Air Act and the Massachusetts Solid Waste Disposal Act, according to Campbell’s office.

In 2021, a “rotten” smell that came from the company’s Grafton facility prompted residents to call the police, according to NBC Boston.

FeedBack Earth’s CEO Alison Greenlee, however, claimed the odor had come from tofu it was processing.

“What we found out over the last couple of weeks is that some of our food products smell a little bit more than others, and particularly the tofu was a little smellier than what we were expecting,” Greenlee told the news station in 2021.

The company was turning food waste into animal feed, resulting in the smell, according to NBC Boston.

However, Campbell’s office said Wednesday that the odors were caused in part by environmental permit violations and unsanitary conditions at the company’s facility. The odor was so strong it affected Grafton residents as far as 4.4 miles away from the facility, according to the attorney general.

In a lawsuit last year, the attorney general also accused the company of using unauthorized machinery and processing unapproved feedstocks — raw materials used to make other products.

An October 2024 preliminary injunction requested by the attorney general’s office halted many of FeedBack Earth Inc.’s operations at the facility.

The company has since ceased operations at the facility, according to Campbell’s office.

“Clean air is a fundamental right and today, the residents in Grafton can breathe a little easier,” Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bonnie Heiple said.

As part of the settlement, the company will pay up to $250,000 in penalties to the state. Of the settlement funds, $110,000 will be given to the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Fund, according to Campbell’s office. The fund supports projects that tackle economic, environmental or health-related harms in Massachusetts communities, according to the fund’s website.

“Communities should not have to suffer the consequences of businesses prioritizing profits over compliance with our reasonable environmental laws and regulations,” Campbell said in the press release. “This settlement holds FeedBack Earth accountable for harming our residents and puts other companies on notice that we will not tolerate business practices that threaten people’s right to breathe fresh air.”

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