Controlled fires are due to take place to determine appropriate storing distances for recycled bales, after a spate of facility fires this year.
Plastic, wood, metal and more
The tests, which are due to take place in March or April 2015, will evaluate the reaction to fire from 12 different types of recyclable material, including plastic, wood and metal. By June, WISH, the Waste Industry Safety and Health forum will post their final recommendations to necessary changes.
Industry bodies Wood Recyclers Association, Tyre Recyclers Association and the Chief Fire Officers Association, the Fire Protection Association are just a few who have come together to make this testing happen.
Each week we hear about another recycling facility that has suffered from a fire. The frequency of these occurrences shows just how important it is that these tests are undertaken.
The Fire Protection Agency will perform the tests at their research facility in Blockley, Gloucestershire. Bales of wood, plastic bottles, paper, car and tyres have been donated from various recyclers.
It’s hoped that the research will be able to determine the size and distance to be set between bales that will allow them to burn out without spreading. The testing comes shortly after WISH released information relating to fire risks at recycling sites. This guidance had been made with the help of The Environmental Services Association, Environment Agency, the Chief Fire Officers Association and the Chief Fire Officers Association but had come under fire after it neglected to provide data for tyre recyclers.
Now is the time to make sure that baled materials are reaching the end markets, and premises are not being damaged and destroyed by unnecessary fire risks. The human element of these disastrous events is huge too, nobody wants to see anybody get hurt, or be put out of work.
