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Green bin collections to resume after waste fire

Alex Pope
BBC News, Bedfordshire
Reporting fromBedford
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service A huge pile of rubbish and recycling sits outside a large burned-out warehouse. In the pile are plastic bags of various colours and blackened materials. On the right of the image are two firefighters spraying water on the rubbish with a yellow hose, wearing hard hats and yellow protective clothing.Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
The building, used to store household recycling, was demolished so the fire could be put out

Green waste bin collections that were suspended for nearly two weeks after a large fire at a waste site will begin again on 21 July.

The fire at Elstow Waste Transfer Station near Bedford broke out at about 21:00 BST on Friday, 4 July and was finally put out on Thursday, 11 July.

The fire involved a large quantity of non-hazardous mixed recyclable household waste.

The building was demolished to enable firefighters safe access to extinguish the flames, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed.

Bedford Borough Council confirmed collections will start again from Monday and thanked residents for their "kind words and patience whilst we made sure your recycling service was not impacted by the fire".

Central Bedfordshire Council said the fire caused some delays to collections, but crews had since caught up.

It confirmed it was still not operating its bulky waste collections and the Thorn Turn Trade Household Waste Recycling Centre would remain closed until the end of the week.

A green garden bin, with green garden waste in it, with the bin open, with plants around it, in a garden
Bedford Borough Council said green waste collections will restart on 21 July

The fire service said a number of contractors would remain on site so the deconstruction of the building could continue.

"This may result in dust being seen from the site," it said.

At the height of the blaze areas including Wixams, Shortstown, Hayes and Houghton Conquest were affected by the smoke.

People were told to keep their windows and doors closed, but that no longer applied.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service A large warehouse is seen gutted by fire. Outside the building two firefighters stand in front of piles of burned rubbish, wearing yellow hemlets and protective clothing. Smoke smoulders from the pile of rubbish and spreads into the air, covering much of the photo. There is a wide puddle of water showing the firefighters' reflections.Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
The building, used to store household recycling, was declared unsafe by a structural engineer
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Two people in white hard hats and protective clothing are in the foreground. One walks towards the warehouse, which is burned out and has piles of corrugated metal falling down in front. To the right, a JCB with a long arm demolishes the black building. Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
The fire was put out after it burnt for nearly a week

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