Yet another... recycling plant fire

[WelshChris]

Glade said:

Bloke at work was doing WW2 re-enacting at the weekend down the road from that...

...they were pretending to the kids in the crowd that they had just mortared Hull.

I'm having a particularly st time at the moment, but I just saw this post and couldn't stop laughing for 10 minutes - PH is like that, which is why I could never not read it. Thanks Mr.Glade - I wonder if the fire's out yet?

[Pesty]

I'm not sure but I think there is a definite chance that a pattern is emerging.

[hornetrider]

Pesty said:

I'm not sure but I think there is a definite chance that a pattern is emerging.

I'd be very interested in the view of the insurance industry. Their premiums must be absolutely massive.

[northwest monkey]

hornetrider said:

Pesty said:

I'm not sure but I think there is a definite chance that a pattern is emerging.

I'd be very interested in the view of the insurance industry. Their premiums must be absolutely massive.

But if these companies "change hands" after a fire would that still affect premiums for the new owner?

It's a bloody joke though.

[funkyrobot]

Another one.

http://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/latest-news/ho...

[Zoon]

Hmm. On another site not too far from Caythorpe another company has gone into administration owing £500k in Tax to HMRC. The owners have sold the assets that they purchased from the administrator to another recycling company for a profit. The old owners have now retired from the skip/recycling industry.

Make of that what you will.

[andy43]

Swervin_Mervin said:

andy43 said:

Back onto recycling centres, I'd love to know if all this recycling is actually economically viable - has anyone ever worked out the total cost (or carbons if you wear sandals) of extra bin trucks, more staff, recycling plants and their fires, fire engines and firemen, smoke inhalation etc etc.
A new-ish recycling plant near me was on fire for weeks last august - here - 2 years after the last fire - here - after much uproar about the smell.
Last august was horrendous, with really nasty smelling smog hanging over hundreds of houses for weeks.
If I were a betting man I'd say the smell of rotting waste and the issue of fires might be related...

All depends on the operators. The Bredbury facility you're on about is a private operator and they AFAIK don't take municipal waste so rely on commercial contracts and skip hire etc. They wouldn't do it if it didn't make them money

I believe the burnt out shell of the Bredbury recycling site is now for sale.

[Mark Benson]

Forgot to report this one when it was alight last month - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yo...

article said:

Local businessman Roger Etherington told BBC Radio York: "It does make you wonder what people are throwing away if it keeps bursting into flames"

It does indeed, it also makes you wonder why they haven't done something to protect against these episodes after the last 'spontaneous' combustion event 3 years ago - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yo...

[tenpenceshort]

And another...

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/carlisle-fire-cr...

[anonymous-user]

I've just read a statistic that said there are currently between 1-2 fires EVERY WEEK at UK recycling centres.

[bostin01]

And one more, this time in Glasgow.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west...

'Fire crews quickly attended the scene and were faced with a severe fire within an industrial recycling establishment'

Bostin.

[matchmaker]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west...

Now being treated as arson. Photos are a bit scary!

[neenaw]

And another one!

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/15/fir...

[funkyrobot]

[Megaflow]

So, if I understand the business model correctly, it goes like this:

1) Set up recycling business
2) Collect large amount of rubbish
3) Rubbish catches fire
4) Insurance pays out

Surely it will come to the point where they just won't be able to get insurance?

[saaby93]

Megaflow said:

So, if I understand the business model correctly, it goes like this:

1) Set up recycling business
2) Collect large amount of rubbish
3) Rubbish catches fire
4) Insurance pays out

Surely it will come to the point where they just won't be able to get insurance?

What's it got to do with insurance?

1) Set up recycling business
2) Get paid to collect and environmentally dispose of rubbish
3) Rubbish accidentally catches fire
4) Goto 2

[Megaflow]

Ah, I assumed the cash was coming from insurance, not the collection in the first place.

[tenpenceshort]

It's merely a wild theory, however I imagine amongst the recyclable material they collect there is a percentage that is not recyclable and not worth anything. Over time they may find this accumulates until it is causing space issues. Having a load of valueless material that needs disposing of properly might be expensive. Certainly more expensive than the whole lot burning away then claiming on your insurance for all the 'recyclable material' you lost.

[Digga]

As I think I've previously said, there are two basic streams of revenue in waste:

1. collection
2. sorting and processing

The first bit is relatively easy, but the second can often be marginal and is certainly more complex. If you can conveniently side-step the second part of the equation, it is very easy money, irrespective of insurance claims or payouts.

[Glade]

But are they all arsonists, or jsut a bit lax with H&S procedures??