Three large waste fires have occurred across the UK in recent days, one of which has triggered an ongoing ‘major incident’ in Bury, Greater Manchester.
In England, at 00:15 this morning ( Monday 26 April), the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue (GMFRS) service were called to reports of a fire at a landfill site operated by Viridor in Bury.
Crews on the scene of a ‘major incident’ at Viridor’s landfill site in Bury (picture: GMFRS)
In Wales, a fire occurred at a materials recycling facility (MRF) in Carmarthen, south Wales on Saturday afternoon run by CWM Environmental.
And, in Scotland there was also a fire at a MRF, operated by the NWH Group which started on Friday.
No injuries have been reported.
Viridor, Bury
The Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue service have declared a major incident at the Viridor landfill site on Pilsworth Road, Bury and says it will be on the scene of the fire for a number of days.
Crews were called to reports of a fire in a pile of household waste measuring 150m x 100m.
The “significant amount of smoke”, along with the location of the incident which is adjacent to Junction 3 of the M66, prompted GMFRS to declare a major incident at 5.40am.
Nine fire engines remain on site, and the situation will be “monitored throughout the day”.
A fire at a landfill site on Pilsworth Road in Bury is ongoing.
A large plume of smoke can be seen in the surrounding area after a section of household waste started burning this morning.
Images from the scene
pic.twitter.com/tWwXxGFktj
— Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (@manchesterfire) April 26, 2021
A Viridor spokesperson this morning said: “GMFRS responded and Viridor staff immediately implemented site safety procedures. There have been no injuries. Nine appliances remain on site to respond to the fire. The cause of the fire is not yet known, however, known causes of waste site fires include hot barbecue coals, gas canisters, and batteries, including lithium ion batteries (commonly found in a variety of products such as eCigarettes, mobile phones, toys, cameras and laptop computers).”
The company added that it was “grateful” to the Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service.
Nantycaws, Wales
A fire which broke out at Nantycaws MRF in Carmarthen, on Saturday (24 April) is “still smouldering” as of Monday morning.
The fire started at 3.30pm on Saturday afternoon, and is now described as ‘contained’. Fire crews remain on site.
Camarthenshire county council confirmed to letsrecycle.com that no-one was injured and an investigation into the cause has now been launched.
The site is run by waste management company CWM Environmental, which the council said is “working very closely” with the fire service.
Natural Resources Wales are also supporting the fire service to implement “a fire water management plan.”
We have attended a fire at a regulated waste site at Nantycaws, Carmarthen supporting Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service. A fire water management plan in place, with fire water being contained in an on-site lagoon. We will visit the site again in the morning. pic.twitter.com/U9EWgOsKDw
— Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru | Natural Resources Wales (@NatResWales) April 24, 2021
NWH Group, Dundee
Waste management and skip business NWH Group has confirmed that services will soon “go ahead as normal” following a fire at its MRF on Nobel Road, West Gourdie Industrial Estate, Dundee on Friday (23 April).
The NWH Dundee facility this morning with material smouldering
The alarm was raised at 10.05pm on Friday evening, and the Scottish Fire and Rescue service reported a large amount of waste to be alight.
Pictures from the site this morning show that the fire is still smouldering.
A NWH spokesperson said: “We can confirm that there has been a fire at our facility in Dundee. No one was injured and we are grateful to the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and Police Scotland who have worked tirelessly over the weekend to tackle the fire.
“All Dundee services will go ahead as normal with no customers or staff affected. We would like to thank the NWH team in Dundee whose efforts over the weekend have ensured business continuity.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
