HALIFAX CO., Va. – Some people living in Halifax have reached out to 10 News with an unusual complaint; they say excessive noise from a neighboring pet food manufacturing plant has been a problem for years.
“We moved in, like, around summertime — it was summertime — and then by the time the fall season starts, you know, there is no tree between the Sunshine Mill and the residence area. Sound gets louder,” said Malik Hussein, who lives near the plant.
Residents say a loud, unrelenting noise from Sunshine Mills Inc., a pet food manufacturing plant, has gotten so bad they can’t sleep at night.
“We’re going through from almost three years now. Like literally we have to go in our son’s room to get some sleep. As you can see, I have a sound machine we use in wintertime — portable AC — just to get some sleep. We don’t want to hear this all night,” Hussein said.
Hussein said he first started dealing with the noise in 2023 and has been in contact with city officials regarding the issue.
“We talked back and forth for like maybe a month, two months, and that was in 2023. And in 2023, this was not even that loud. In 2024, they installed another equipment and made it even worse,” he said.
Neighbor Keith Washo said he used a decibel meter to track the noise levels.
“It ranges anywhere from 60 to 61, going all the way up to in some cases 63 decibels, which, as you can imagine, is five to six decibels louder than what’s considered a normal healthy ordinance,” Washo said.
We did some digging and learned neither Halifax County nor the Town of Halifax has noise ordinances mentioning specific decibel limits.
In a statement to 10 News, Halifax Town Manager Carl Espy said, “The town has been in communication with Sunshine Mills after the first complaint was received. Since that time, Sunshine Mills has made a number of modifications to its facility in an effort to lessen the noise generated at the Halifax plant, which now has narrowed to affecting several households.”
The city also told 10 News, “Sunshine Mills has incurred expense in its effort to be responsive to the noise concerns. The town has been advised that a fluidizer system will be installed at the Sunshine Mills Halifax plant in November. It is hoped that the installation of that new system will further reduce noise generated by the facility.”
A plant manager with Sunshine Mills declined to go on camera but confirmed to 10 News that they are working with the city to fix the noise issues.
“That’s just — they need to fix this. That’s all,” Hussein said. “Alright? And as soon as possible. Like, they shouldn’t take years and years to fix it.”