Government on nose after years of foul smell complaints

"There are days I cough that much I vomit - other times I am sneezing heaps from the smell," Redbank Plains resident Tracey Butler told AAP.

"My dogs have got rashes from it."

Headaches, skin irritations, watery eyes and itchy throats are among other symptoms listed by locals across the years.

Four nearby waste companies have come under fire for the terrible odour that has plagued the Ipswich region.

Ipswich's population is expected to more than double to 560,000 by 2041. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)

"Some days we will get it, others we won't get anything - it just depends on which way the wind is blowing," Ms Butler said.

More than 25,000 complaints from the region have been lodged with the Queensland government since 2018.

"It's so bad," Ms Butler said of the smell.

"Some days it is like rotten manure, others it can be rotting compost."

Ms Butler moved to the city six years ago.

"We were unpacking and I said to my husband 'what is that damn awful smell'," she said.

"We had to close the windows - we were nauseous. 

"It has only continued from there."

It is estimated the Ipswich City Council has spent $8 million taking local waste companies to court.

The state government also launched legal action against one of them, NuGrow Ipswich.

However, an interim restraint order application aiming to stop deliveries at the facility was dismissed in court in March.

NuGrow has been adamant it has complied with the law and taken community complaints seriously.

Another local waste company, Wood Mulching Industries, was fined more than $30,000 by the state government in January for stockpiling green waste that led to a fire that burned for weeks.

The Ipswich council said the region received 42 per cent - or 4.23 million tonnes - of Queensland's total waste.

Ipswich City Council has spent an estimated $8 million taking local waste companies to court. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)

Frustrated locals say something has to be done about the smell, with more people set to be impacted.

Ipswich's population is expected to more than double to 560,000 by 2041.

The state government says it has listened, introducing legislation to strengthen the independent regulator's powers dealing with environmental harm.

Community feedback is now being sought on proposed regulations aimed at minimising a facility's odour impact.

It includes a facility close to residential zones being required to enclose its operations if it is receiving "highly odorous" waste.

"While proposed changes would apply statewide, the need for change has largely arisen from odour issues impacting the Ipswich community," a state government statement said.

Ms Butler believed the state government was "all talk" ahead of the October election.

"They say they are fixing it - well, how come we are still getting the smell?" she said.

"We have security screens but when we go to bed we have the windows closed - we should be able to have air flowing through.

"Instead we have rotten manure coming through. 

"Until I can see action and have no smell, then I will believe them."