A tall chimney could be installed at a waste processing plant to carry away foul smells from hundreds of surrounding homes.
It is one of the measures Biffa Waste Management is working on to tackle the odour problems which have plagued families in the Mowmacre area of Leicester for more than a decade.
On Monday Biffa general manager Simon Lund told a heated meeting of residents that the company was implementing an action plan drawn up by the Environment Agency.
The move comes after months of complaints from residents following a break down at the plant.
Under the Environment Agency plan the company will improve the scrubbing of the air before it is released into the atmosphere. They will also ensure the smells are sealed in the main processing building.
The company will also start tests in August in and around the plant to see if the installation of a taller chimney stack would ease the problems.
Mr Lund said the plant which processes 120,000 tonnes of house hold waste a year needed to take action.
He said: "We are working on ensuring the seals will prevent odours being released. We will conduct smoke tests to ensure the work has been completed."
He also said they would carry out "modelling" tests to see if a taller chimney would diffuse smells over a wider area away from the neighbourhood.
But he discounted a call to install two sets of doors at the entrance to prevent smells escaping as lorries entered the processing area.
He said it would require a 16 metre long "porch" to accommodate incoming vehicles and there was no room for it on site.
Residents were sceptical that the measures would be effective.
Long-time resident Michael Warner said: "I have lived here all the time the plant has been open and the smells have always been bad.
"I will have to wait to see if what is proposed will work."
Julie Wilkinson, manager of the Diamond House care home for residents with dementia, said: "We have 44 residents and we can't let them sit outside because the smells from the plant make them feel ill. They cannot understand why there is such a dreadful odour."
City councillor Annette Byrne said: "The smells are still dreadful. I get complaints from residents every day which I log. We have had promises in the past. It is long overdue for action that works.
A number of the residents complained that the discharges from the plant could be causing chest infections and breathing problems.
Mother of two Yvette Whitaker said: "I and my two children suffer with chest infections. Not only does the plant smell we want to know what we are breathing in. My son suffers from asthma and I have to send him away to his nan's if the smells are bad."
Another mum Lynn Green said: "The children are always complaining about finding it difficult to breathe when the smells are bad. Many are now on inhalers."
The meeting at the Tudor Centre was organised and chaired by Leicester West MP Liz Kendall.
She said: "I will press for the environmental health officers at the city council to ensure that air quality tests are carried out."
She added: "People have had to wait for too long to have a solution to the ongoing problem."
She added: "I am sure senior Biffa management would not tolerate living with the smells. I do not see why my constituents have to."
Environment Agency officer Mervyn Tongue said the programme of action had been agreed with the company and would be monitored.
