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Cause of Aberdeen recycling centre fire may never be known due to damaged state of building

The Suez recycling centre in Altens was destroyed by fire potentially caused by a lithium battery in July last year. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson
The Suez recycling centre in Altens was destroyed by fire potentially caused by a lithium battery in July last year. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Council officers have revealed they “won’t really ever know” what caused the devastating Altens recycling centre fire in Aberdeen last year because of the devastation caused.

The waste facility went up in flames in July with more than 100 firefighters attending the scene to bring the blaze under control.

An investigation led by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service later said the exact cause of the fire was “undetermined”.

Fire crews on the recycling centre site three days after the blaze started. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson

Members of the local authority’s audit, risk and scrutiny committee discussed a fire investigation report by the fire service earlier today.

New recycling facility could be ‘up and running’ by 2025

Councillor Nurul Ali noted that work is progressing to rebuild the facility but asked if there was a target date in mind for the project to be completed.

Chief officer Mark Reilly informed him that it could take up to 2025 but added that there was “no definite timeline at the moment”.

Mr Reilly also said work on the site was subject to discussions between the council, Suez and insurers.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service crews at the Suez recycling centre in Altens. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Meanwhile, waste and recycling manager Pamela Walker said demolition work should be complete within the next couple of months.

Council co-leader, councillor Alex Nicoll, asked if the fire service knew what was to blame for starting the fire.

Mrs Walker said that while the SFRS can’t absolutely say what started the fire, they believe it could have been a battery from an electrical device – possibly a vape.

She added: “We won’t really ever know and the devastation that the fire caused means there was no evidence left.”

Public urged to watch hard-hitting CCTV footage

Mr Nicol also suggested the council use the hard-hitting CCTV images of the fire to stress to people the importance of splitting materials when recycling to try to minimise the risk of fires in the future.

Fellow council co-leader, councillor Ian Yuill, agreed and encouraged people to watch the footage to see how rapidly the fire spread.

He also asked if the waste team could use the video as part of its publicity efforts to encourage people to recycle correctly.

Safety warning about disposing of vapes

Committee convener, councillor Sandra Macdonald, raised the recent blaze at the historic Jenners department store building in Edinburgh where a firefighter died.

She said: “We do need to be thankful that didn’t occur here in Aberdeen but it was a horrendous fire that happened in our plant.”

The aftermath of the fire at the Suez recycling centre in Altens. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson

Mrs Macdonald also asked if the council “could and should” do more to educate people about disposing vapes correctly.

She added: “I’ve come across a lot more of them walking around my ward and around the countryside.”

The George Street and Harbour councillor suggested the disposal of vapes be looked at in more detail so members can “understand the scale of the problem and how we tackle that”.

The council launched a campaign before Christmas around the safe disposal of batteries and small electronic devices and this will be continued going forward.

What was on the Altens recycling centre site?

The Altens East recycling centre opened in 2017.

It housed the council’s waste and recycling collection service – including around 180 staff and 57 collection vehicles.

A materials recycling facility was also on the site which sorted and processed recyclables from Aberdeen and its neighbouring local authorities.

You can watch the committee meeting here.

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