100 tonnes of rubbish catches fire in Chingford

The mound of waste at the Camden Plant Ltd recycling facility off Lower Hall Lane in Chingford, which was piled up between the Edmonton Incinerator and Thames Water plant, went up in flames just after 9.30pm on Tuesday.

The fire brigade received several calls from members of the public as a large plume of acrid smoke drifted across the area.

The Chingford crew were first on the scene, but soon called for back-up as water supplies ran low.

Four crews from the surrounding area attended the blaze, together with a special unit from Southgate, which carries hundreds of metres of hose.

Firefighters spent the whole night tackling the blaze and remained at the scene after sunrise to ensure it did not re-ignite, with the last leaving at about 8am on Wednesday morning.

Plant manager, Alan McNamara, said the fire started in a pile of waste that was waiting to be separated.

He said no one was on site when the fire started, there was no damage to the plant, and business resumed as usual this morning.

He said: "There was no damage to the external areas because the fire was contained. It was dealt with as professionally and quickly as possible.

"We are now recylcing Waltham Forest waste as we speak."

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.  

Camden Plant Ltd has tipping facilities for recycling waste, including construction and demolition waste.

Click here to follow the Waltham Forest Guardian on Twitter