What's the absolute worst smell you've ever encountered? Whatever it is, chance are it doesn't come close to the stench of dead rotting pigs. 

That's what 6,400 residents of Estherville, Iowa are forced to deal with - the putrid stink of a nearby rendering plant Central Bi-Products. It's so bad, people can't even go outside!

The probelm is in violation of the company's conditional use permit with the county, according to Emmet County Supervisor John Pluth. There have been over 300 complaints filed against the company and legal action against the plant is now pending.

The Des Moines Register reports "a dozen trucks, each carrying up to 30,000 pounds of decomposing animals recently sat in the hot sun outside the plant waiting to be processed".

By my math, that's about 360,000 pounds of retched, sickening stench.

At a public meeting with supervisors in July, Dan Hildebrandt, the CEO of Farmers Union Industries (parent company of Central Bi-Products) apologized to residents for the odor and spills.

But that apology isn't enough to get rid of the smell in Estherville, IA.

Pass the can of Lysol.

[source: Des Moines Register]