Lincolnshire-based waste firm Mid UK Recycling has said it is investigating the cause of a fire last week, which occurred less than two months since it was fined £100,000 in relation to a separate 2015 blaze.
The fire service warned residents to keep windows and doors closed after the fire
However, the company says it does not believe the circumstances to be suspicious.
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue confirmed that it attended a “large fire” at the site in Caythorpe in the early hours of Thursday morning (July 26) and warned residents to keep windows and doors closed.
A total of six appliances were sent to the fire at Mid UK’s MRF on Station Road, which the company has previously said can process 80,000 tonnes of comingled dry recyclable materials collected from households, residents and businesses across Lincolnshire and the East Midlands.
Specialist crews were also sent out to distinguish the fire, which the service says was caused by an overheating industrial shredding machine.
“The incident caused serious damage to a conveyor belt attached to a shredder and to an industrial wood shredder and surrounding wood chippings,” the service said.
The service also added that there were no casualties.
Investigation
In a statement, Mid UK described the incident as a “small fire” and said it is conducting an investigation.
“We had a small fire at 2am [On Thursday July 26] on a machine at our Caythorpe site. The site does not operate overnight but our flame detection system picked up the fire and alerted our overnight security supervisor who then followed emergency procedures,” a spokesperson said.
They added: “Fire crews attended, isolated the fire and extinguished it. They had left the site by 6am. There was no danger to personnel or damage to any other equipment. We will be investigating the cause of the fire but there are no suspicious circumstances.”
It’s unclear how long the facility will be out of action for.
Previous fines
Mid UK was fined for a fire at its Ancaster site in July 2015 (credit: Lincoln School of Film & Media)
Earlier this month, Mid UK was fined £100,000 with fees of £50,000 after sentencing at Lincoln Crown Court in June 2018 (see letsrecycle.com story)
According to Lincolnshire county council, MidUK Recycling was prosecuted for operating illegal waste storage at a recycling facility at Barkston Heath, Ancaster.
LCC said the cause of the fire (see letsrecycle.com story) was “spontaneous combustion due to the long period of storage, the quantity and the nature of the wastes.”
“As a direct result of the illegal storage of waste, a serious fire occurred at the site in July 2015, which required closure of nearby roads for several days and warnings to local residents to keep windows and doors closed,” the council said.
The company was also ordered to pay £230,000 to the Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue Service to cover the costs of its services in dealing with the fire.
The site on Station Road, Caythorpe, was also hit by a blaze in 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story).
FIRE PREVENTION AND CONTROL CONFERENCE
7th November 2018, Willis Towers Watson, London
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