Major fire at AWS Ecoplastics factory

The fire broke out at around 3pm this afternoon (25 August) and as this article was published at 5.45pm, around 75 fire fighters were understood to be at the plant tackling the blaze.

No injuries have been reported and the cause of the fire is so far unknown.

Comments left by eyewitnesses on local news website ThisisLincolnshire said that black smoke was bellowing into the air, while the sound of gas cylinders exploding has been reported. The wind is said to be blowing the pall of black smoke away from the nearby village of Hemswell.

At around 4pm, one eyewitness, Mark Hurd, said: “Black smoke from burning plastic is roiling into the sky [and] the sound of occasional exploding LP gas cylinders can be heard half a mile away.”

Another eyewitness, Richard Hill, posted this video of the blaze on YouTube this afternoon:

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AWS had recently completed a £14m expansion of the Lincolnshire reprocessing facility to turn plastic waste back into food-grade material. Just three weeks ago it reported that the site had received full certification for producing food-contact material.

The future of the plant was unclear this afternoon AWS has not been available for comment when contacted by Packaging News.

Before the fire, the Hemswell plant could handle two billion plastic bottles every year, and also segregate a range of plastics collected from local authorities and waste management firms.

At the plant, the bottles are de-labelled, granulated and washed and can then be used in new plastic products such as pipes and packaging.

Have you witnessed the fire? Get in touch by emailing packagingnews.editorial@haymarket.com

Last updated at 6.30pm on 25 August

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