Yet another... recycling plant fire
Discussion
giveitfish said:
Who'd have thought it? It's not their fault at all. it's us for not knowing where to put used batteries. Very handy! Article a bit odd though- first thing you do if stuff is burning on a conveyor belt is switch it off. Makes it sound as if that part is hard, even after they know there is a fire. Must be an emergency stop. Just push the big red button surely?
giveitfish said:
If they find batteries do they recycle them?hyphen said:
Do council run tips ever have fires?
Or just the private ones?
Yes, yes they do.Or just the private ones?
https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/news/household-waste...
Not for the first time either....
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-32942...
Although generally not started deliberately (allegedly)
Edited by TriumphStag3.0V8 on Monday 26th October 21:50
heads not processing the material they receive correctly, in order to find and remove said batteries is the cause of the fires.
Is it just that they are full of unknown waste and badly managed, or is it deliberate?
I can't think of any other area of industry where fires seem to be so common, but seemingly with very little done about it.
If it was an oil refinery or something, or even just a small factory there would be all sorts of investigations and reports.
I can't think of any other area of industry where fires seem to be so common, but seemingly with very little done about it.
If it was an oil refinery or something, or even just a small factory there would be all sorts of investigations and reports.
Plymo said:
Is it just that they are full of unknown waste and badly managed, or is it deliberate?
I can't think of any other area of industry where fires seem to be so common, but seemingly with very little done about it.
If it was an oil refinery or something, or even just a small factory there would be all sorts of investigations and reports.
Both examples have some knowledge of their feed stock. Even the most educated people I know seem to struggle with the most basic concepts of recycling, so when someone chucks an old phone battery in with their recycling you end up with potential issues!I can't think of any other area of industry where fires seem to be so common, but seemingly with very little done about it.
If it was an oil refinery or something, or even just a small factory there would be all sorts of investigations and reports.
Plymo said:
Is it just that they are full of unknown waste and badly managed, or is it deliberate?
Yes.The waste is unknown, so might catch fire. But the plan is, when the site is full, might as well set fire to it, to make space for more.
Catching fire on its own is a bonus.
They have no plan to actually process this stuff.
A big on in Telford this week at what sounds like a "dead" site.
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/tel...
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/tel...
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/tel...
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/tel...
Shropshire Star said:
Formerly known as Greenway Waste Recycling site the plant has been at the centre of a long-running campaign to permanently halt operations at the site near a double bend in Waterloo Road over road safety and concerns over bad smells.
Residents of Lawley, Overdale and Ketley held a protest march in 2016 against plans by Greenway to expand the operation. But the business closed in January 2017.
It was expected to reopen in 2018 after new operator Nottinghamshire based Johnson Aggregates and Recycling Limited won permits to increase the amount of waste to be processed, along with permission for 100 lorry movements each despite residents concerns over traffic and smells, but this did not materialise.
Residents of Lawley, Overdale and Ketley held a protest march in 2016 against plans by Greenway to expand the operation. But the business closed in January 2017.
It was expected to reopen in 2018 after new operator Nottinghamshire based Johnson Aggregates and Recycling Limited won permits to increase the amount of waste to be processed, along with permission for 100 lorry movements each despite residents concerns over traffic and smells, but this did not materialise.
These are photos of a plastic waste site next to our site some years ago.
The first shows stockpiles of plastic waste on pallets which filled the gaps between the offices and warehouses, leaving a narrow roadway for vehicles to travel through. The warehouses were also stacked to the eaves with waste.
Despite lots of concerns being raised at the time to the Council, nothing was done to ensure that the company complied with the legislation - and a rogue firework (apparently) set fire to it all.
All of the warehouses and offices next door were destroyed.
Our site was also badly damaged.
The fire brigade were amazing and, once the fire grew in ferocity, they turned their hoses onto our buildings to prevent more damage.
They gave up trying to put the actual fire out and it burned for weeks.
You might see the Pistonheads sticker on my Defender.
The first shows stockpiles of plastic waste on pallets which filled the gaps between the offices and warehouses, leaving a narrow roadway for vehicles to travel through. The warehouses were also stacked to the eaves with waste.
Despite lots of concerns being raised at the time to the Council, nothing was done to ensure that the company complied with the legislation - and a rogue firework (apparently) set fire to it all.
All of the warehouses and offices next door were destroyed.
Our site was also badly damaged.
The fire brigade were amazing and, once the fire grew in ferocity, they turned their hoses onto our buildings to prevent more damage.
They gave up trying to put the actual fire out and it burned for weeks.
You might see the Pistonheads sticker on my Defender.
Plymo said:
Is it just that they are full of unknown waste and badly managed, or is it deliberate?
I can't think of any other area of industry where fires seem to be so common, but seemingly with very little done about it.
If it was an oil refinery or something, or even just a small factory there would be all sorts of investigations and reports.
There’s a lot going on to address it, it is just very difficult to resolve. I can't think of any other area of industry where fires seem to be so common, but seemingly with very little done about it.
If it was an oil refinery or something, or even just a small factory there would be all sorts of investigations and reports.
I don’t know whether it’s interesting enough to go into what the industry is doing or not.
Davel said:
The fire brigade were amazing and, once the fire grew in ferocity, they turned their hoses onto our buildings to prevent more damage.
They gave up trying to put the actual fire out and it burned for weeks..
Does the fire brigade try to save the waste/recyclables in any of these cases?They gave up trying to put the actual fire out and it burned for weeks..
Otherwise it saves sending for incineration. Does insurance pay out the value of the lost waste?
Well they were trying to put the plastics out but the water risked flowing down to the river, so instead they turned their attentions to minimising the spread to our site.
After a good few days, the created a lagoon area and dragged the waste through it to finally extinguish it.
I think it burned for five weeks in total.
We couldn't access our site for about 10 days and then we were allowed to operate if the wind was in the right direction.
I had earlier access but had to be escorted on and off site by a member of the fire brigade to and from my office.
I don't know about the insurance especially as they found an accelerant in the waste so foul play was expected.
Luckily we were covered for the damage to our warehouses.
After a good few days, the created a lagoon area and dragged the waste through it to finally extinguish it.
I think it burned for five weeks in total.
We couldn't access our site for about 10 days and then we were allowed to operate if the wind was in the right direction.
I had earlier access but had to be escorted on and off site by a member of the fire brigade to and from my office.
I don't know about the insurance especially as they found an accelerant in the waste so foul play was expected.
Luckily we were covered for the damage to our warehouses.
Edited by Davel on Sunday 23 May 11:45
saaby93 said:
Does the fire brigade try to save the waste/recyclables in any of these cases?
Otherwise it saves sending for incineration. Does insurance pay out the value of the lost waste?
It's not a case of saving the recyclables, it's a combination of managing the risk of the fire spreading, and managing the risk of the volume of water applied causing consequential structural or environmental damage. Otherwise it saves sending for incineration. Does insurance pay out the value of the lost waste?
Often, both of these outcomes are best achieved by simply allowing the burning mass to extinguish itself through expiry of the fuel.
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