Waste fires prompt call for better prevention

The Environment Agency has reissued guidance urging waste site operators to step up fire prevention measures, following a spate of fires at recycling and waste storage depots throughout the summer.

And, the Agency warned that failure to show evidence that measures had been implemented in written procedures could affect annual subsistence fees.

Sites that meet the Agency standard could see a 5% reduction in the fees, whereas poorly managed sites with huge stockpiles of material and no fire breaks could see them increased by up to 300%.

In a letter to firms headed Are you doing enough to prevent fire at your waste site? the Agency explained: Were asking you to think about the impact of fire on your business, your reputation, your neighbours and your environment. Recent experience shows that large fires in stockpiled waste produce plumes of dense black smoke that impact on surrounding businesses, communities and transport routes. Contaminated water from fire-fighting threatens nearby rivers and site clearance is costly and time consuming. Prevention is better than cure make sure you are prepared.

It continued: In your written procedures youll include the steps youre taking to both prevent fires and to minimise the impact of an accident. Well be checking these procedures and the way you follow them, to make sure that they are as good as they can be.

Checklist

In accordance with the move, the Agency has sought to highlight its fire prevention guidance through a general checklist of actions that can be taken to reduce risks.

The guidance asks site operators to consider whether they have an up-to-date accident and emergency and fire response plan, and if so, whether it reflects current on-site waste types and if staff are familiar with it.

It also calls for operators to identify potential sources of ignition on site, improve security against arson attacks, address how waste is stored, and if possible, increase space between stacks and buildings or boundary fences.

Publication of the checklist follows a large blaze at Asset and Land Groups recycling depot in Stockport on August 21 (see letsrecycle.com story). The last fire crew left the site this morning (September 9) but Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service has told letsrecycle.com that it will maintain an on-site presence.

In the wake of the Stockport blaze, Roy Wilsher, operations director for the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) said: The recent fires in the West Midlands and Greater Manchester serve as a stark reminder to us all of the fire risk associated with waste and recycling sites. In 2012 there were over 300 fires at such sites, many of which required a huge effort from the local Fire and Rescue Service to contain the fire, which can burn for days or even weeks.

Resources

Fires at Premier Wastes materials recycling facility in Birmingham, Scotgens Dumfries-based gasification plant (which has since had its licence revoked), and SWEEEP Kuusakoskis WEEE recycling facility in Kent earlier in the summer, have also tested fire service resources over the summer.

On June 30, a fire at plastics recycler Jayplas Smethwick-based depot gained nationwide attention when the West Midland Fire Service called it the largest ever seen in the West Midlands. Destroying an estimated 10,000 tonnes of low density polyethylene bales, the blaze was caused by a Chinese lantern floating on to the site (see letsrecycle.com story).