Fire crews left the scene at 20:00 yesterday (July 11) and have confirmed that the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
According to the London Fire Brigade, four fire engines and around 25 firefighters were at the scene of the fire yesterday, which was first reported at 10:23 in a single-story building. The brigade added that a “large amount” of waste was on fire (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, the fire was brought under control soon after and crews were instructed to leave the scene in the evening.
A spokesperson for Viridor said the company was “grateful” to the fire service.
“Viridor can confirm a small fire was reported at its Beddington Lane transfer station in Sutton, South London, (Thursday, 11 July) at 10.45am,” the company statement said.
It added: “The London Fire Service was called to the transfer station and worked with Viridor staff who used site machinery to relocate waste material and give fire fighters better access to the source of the fire. The fire was extinguished last night and the fire service had left the site by 8pm.
“There were no injuries, no risk to public health and the EA was informed. Viridor wishes to thank the London Fire Service for its assistance.”
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The Beddington facility processes waste from the South London Waste Partnership (SLWP), which covers the London boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton.
The SLWP said in a statement yesterday that the fire had meant that deliveries of all recycling and rubbish to the Beddington Lane site were “suspended for a period of time” while the Fire Brigade worked to bring the fire under control.
Deliveries of food waste and rubbish resumed shortly after, while some loads of recycling continued to be diverted to alternative facilities in Mitcham for a short while afterwards.
Viridor and the SLWP have since confirmed that deliveries of waste that were paused have now re-started.
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