The site at Locks Yard, Heol LLan houses close to 5,000 tonnes of wood waste, the Fire Service has said, although the fire is thought to be affecting around 500 tonnes of material.
Crews were originally called to the site early on Monday (19 September) morning, after the fire had been detected, and a spokeswoman for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service this afternoon confirmed that teams have remained on-site to tackle the blaze.
South Wales Wood Recycling handles up to 2,000 tonnes per month of civic amenity site and construction and demolition wood as well as broken pallets and cases. Material taken to the site is shredded and screened to supply chipboard factories, biomass fuel or for animal bedding.
A spokesperson for the fire service, said: “At approximately 3:30am yesterday, 19th September, we responded to an emergency call relating to a fire at South Wales Wood Recycling Ltd in Bridgend. We have been in attendance at the scene of the incident since that time, working with our partners to bring the incident under control.
“This is an ongoing incident, and we still have five fire appliances and three water bowsers on scene and current firefighting activity includes creating fire breaks and dampening down. On site personnel have been using their heavy machinery to assist us with creating the fire breaks.”
South Wales Wood Recycling was contacted by letsrecycle.com but could not be reached for comment.
Investigation
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service also confirmed that it will be carrying out an investigation into the cause of the blaze, once it has been fully extinguished. Natural Resources Wales is also on-site to monitor water runoff into local waterways.
The fire comes at a time when blazes at waste sites are particularly under the spotlight, with the Environment Agency having published guidance aimed at preventing fires. The Fire Prevention Plan guidance, unveiled in July, is an update on previous rules and stipulates various restrictions on the storage and separation distances between piles of waste materials.
FIRE CONFERENCE
A conference on fire prevention and control in the waste and recycling industry, organised by letsrecycle.com, is to be held in London on 9 November. More details at: www.fireconf.com
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