The companies announced on Friday that Veolia is to take over commercial waste collections through Niramax’s network of 4,000 trade waste containers, collected from over 1,000 customers across the region. The waste will be processed by Niramax at the Hartlepool site.
Shortly after the announcement was made, fire broke out at the site at around 11pm on Friday, starting in a grabber machine and spreading to mixed waste being stored in one of the on-site sheds. Fire services have now brought the fire under control.
The incident saw some 10 appliances from Cleveland Fire Brigade called in to tackle the blaze.
Commenting on the incident, a spokesman for the fire service confirmed the fire had been extinguished but that fire services could remain on site until Wednesday to prevent any flare-ups. He added that residents in the area “should stay out of the smoke”.
A Niramax spokesman added: “At around 11pm on Friday a small fire broke out in one of our machines in a shed on site, which would have been locally contained were it not for the adverse weather conditions which caused it to spread.
“Firefighters were called and spent most of the night bringing it under control, and confined within the plant boundaries. We are working with authorities to establish how it started.”
Veolia
Niramax operates a transfer station, materials recovery facility and tyre recycling facility in the region, and produces refuse-derived fuel (RDF) at the Hartlepool facility, which is shipped to Europe for processing.
Under the agreement with Veolia, Niramax will process the residual fraction of the waste collected from the region, converting the material to RDF.
Commenting on the agreement Frank Antropik, managing director of Niramax, said: “We have been in discussions with Veolia for some time to reach this agreement, which we believe enhances our business offering and adds another string to our bow.
“It’s a win-win situation for both companies as it very much plays to our strengths, with Veolia collecting the waste and Niramax processing and treating it – diverting it away from landfill which of course is a big priority for the industry.”
HMRC
Niramax has been under increasing scrutiny in recent months, after it emerged in October that North Yorkshire county council had suspended deliveries of municipal waste to the company. Niramax had been processing refuse from the council into RDF.
The deliveries ceased after Niramax was forced to close its gates on September 23 as part of a series of raids led by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) into suspected landfill tax fraud. The business was later allowed to resume trading, but the investigation is ongoing.
The council, which made alternative arrangements to landfill its waste at Harewood Whin, stated deliveries would only recommence when it is “fully satisfied that waste is being managed responsibly at all stages from receipt to final disposal” (see letsrecycle.com story).
North Yorkshire’s waste is still being accepted at Yorwaste’s landfill site.
Niramax said: “HMRC is continuing with its investigation and we are co-operating fully with officers. Our legal team is involved and will advise us appropriately when the process concludes.”
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