Wiser Recycling can confirm that a fire spread through our Approved Authorised Treatment Facility in St Ives, Cambridgeshire yesterday afternoon.
Our staff evacuated very quickly and there were no injuries from the incident but what started as a small fire took hold very quickly and our operations and building at this site have been destroyed.
The blaze was extinguished by Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service with whom we are cooperating fully. They have stated that “following a full fire investigation, the cause of the fire was determined as accidental. It is believed the most likely cause of fire was a lithium battery that was caught up in the baling process of the recycled electrical items”.
We are currently implementing contingency plans in order to be able to continue to provide a full service to our clients. Our administration and transport teams are up and running, our drivers are collecting as normal and we have full access to our systems, emails and phone lines which are redirected to temporary offices at our sister company, Wiser Environment.
We offer our sincerest thanks to Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and our staff, and apologise to local residents and businesses for the inconvenience caused from the fire.