Around 150 firefighters have tackled a large blaze at a waste processing and recycling plant on the outskirts of Leeds.

Crews spent last Wednesday night tackling the fire at the WasteCare site in Garforth and stopping it from spreading to a nearby sorting office and homes. The nearby Holiday Inn hotel was also evacuated.

The fire took around nine hours to bring under control

When crews arrived shortly after midnight they were faced with a rapidly escalating fire. Around 30 appliances were involved, and firefighters from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were supported by crews from South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

Water jets and foam were used to tackle the fire and a large plume of smoke that was visible for miles around. The fire was under control by around 9.00am the following morning but there was major disruption to surrounding roads, including junction 46 of the M1.

Drinking water supplies were not affected by the runoff water, but Environment Agency officials advised local residents to stay indoors.

The cause of the fire is not yet known and an investigation was due to start today.

Hazardous waste
WasteCare specialises in managing hazardous waste and “difficult” non-hazardous waste that cannot be landfilled, including chemicals, fluorescent lighting and printing and photographic materials. A spokesperson for the company confirmed that none of its staff were on site when the fire started.

“We take this incident extremely seriously and will be carrying out a thorough investigation into the cause. We are currently working with the Environment Agency to ensure there is no environmental damage.

All operations have been transferred to other WasteCare facilities and there will be no delays or changes to any of our services. Our national waste collection and recycling services continue to operate as normal.”

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