A west Edmonton compost heap is causing a real stink among nearby businesses and residents.

The stench from the three-storey-high pile is apparently so bad that people who live and work kilometres away say they often catch a foul whiff whenever the wind blows just right.

"It smells like manure," said Kaitlin Patton, who can't even avoid the odour from a residential subdivision several kilometres down the road.

At Leskow Trucking also down the road, Peter Leskow says his mechanics often can't stand the smell and have to go home.

"They get sick and want to throw up," he said.

City Hall has been inundated with phone calls complaining about the compost heap since August.

But although the company that operates the composting business — Clean It, Green It — is well aware of the problem, the smell is expected to linger for some time.

Kirstin Castro-Wunsch of Clean it Green it says that pile would be smaller if groups such as Strathcona County, which delivers biodegradable waste, removed the amount of composted material they once intended to.

"We need to find new homes for that compost," she said.

Castro-Wunsch said the August stench was largely due to wet weather and smellier-than-usual material being taken to the site.

The city will review the company's plans to deal with the issue next week.