Household refuse collections in parts of Somerset are likely to be delayed following a large fire at a landfill site.

Firefighters are working to bring the blaze under control after breaking out at Dimmer Landfill Site, near Castle Cary, yesterday afternoon.

Staff for site operator Viridor and the Environment Agency are also monitoring the situation to ensure public safety.

Dimmer Recycling Centre is still open while rubbish from household collections and recycling sites is being diverted to Walpole landfill site, near Bridgwater, with longer journey times likely to mean delays to refuse collections across Mendip and South Somerset.

The fire has brought renewed warnings from Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) to residents throughout Somerset about what they must not put in their rubbish bins or black sacks.

As well as the danger of a landfill conflagration when staff are working or a blaze in a rubbish collection vehicle, a fire in a rubbish bin could spread, threatening families or businesses.

Among the danger items that should never be add to the rubbish bin are

  • Hot ash or part-burned materials from domestic or garden fires or barbeques.
  • Household batteries as these may cause sparks or even explode.
  • Broken glass not carefully wrapped or bagged as it could act as a magnifying lens.
  • Aerosols as they may get hot or be pierced during the landfill process.  

The advice is simple in each case

  • Let ash and portable barbeques completely cool, or fully damp down with water.
  • Take household batteries to recycling sites or high street stores that collect them.
  • Carefully wrap and bag broken glass, which should also never go in recycling boxes.
  • Use up aerosols completely, do not squash, and then add them to recycling boxes.

A SWP spokesperson said: “These are common sense precautions to avoid the risk of fire. And recyclable items – including batteries and aerosols – should never be in household rubbish.”

Around 120,000 tonnes of Somerset household rubbish is landfilled each year at Walpole and Dimmer at a cost to council tax payers of £12 million. From 2020, all Somerset rubbish will be sent to an energy-from-waste plant being built at Avonmouth.

For information on what can go in rubbish bins or black sacks, and what must never be added, visit www.somersetwaste.gov.uk or call your district council customer services.