A massive fire at the Smethwick, Birmingham / UK facility of plastics recycling specialist Jayplas, the trademark of J & A Young (Leicester) (Oakham, Leicester / UK; www.jayplas.com), has been brought under control by 200 firefighters using 35 fire appliances and three hydraulic platforms from West Midlands and neighbouring fire brigades.

The West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) said 100,000 t of plastic waste was involved in the fire, though the company could not confirm the amount of material on the site at the time of the blaze.

The fire, covering an area of around 90,000 m^2, broke out on the evening of 30 June. The West Midlands Fire Service believes that it was started by a sky lantern, which floated into the site at around 11pm. WMFS said that the blaze in Smethwick is one of the largest it has ever dealt with. It sent smoke billowing 1,880 m high and has led to medical treatment for 10 firefighters, two of whom have received hospital treatment.

The site, which has around ten employees, handles LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE and PP waste. The material is collected from a number of major retailers. Jayplas also assists other firms in organising the separation of recyclate from their waste streams and provides on-site collections, balers and trailers for the waste. In 2010, it opened a 30,000 t/y food grade PET recycling plant in Corby – see Plasteurope.com from 07.09.2010. In addition to the Birmingham and Corby facilities, the company has UK plants in Loughborough, Derby and Manchester.