Anger at second fire in four days at Wiltshire's waste dump

In response, a Wiltshire MP launched a furious tirade against a waste firm on social media - while the company issued an urgent plea for residents to take more care when disposing of their rubbish.

On Monday, June 15 at around 5.45pm, a fire broke out at the Compton Bassett recycling site near Calne. Residents were told to keep doors and windows shut as firefighters tackled the blaze.

Nine days later, and around 9.30pm on June 24 - the hottest day of the year - a second fire broke out at the same facility. Again, residents were told to keep doors and windows shut.

The following day, furious Chippenham MP Sarah Gibson - whose constituency includes Calne - took to social media to blast Hills Waste Solutions over the two fires, as well as the ongoing odour complaints emanating from the firm's landfill site at Lower Compton.

"Four days, two fires, and one landfill site. This just simply isn't good enough," she said.

"I've just come off the phone from Hills. And I told them, you can't open your windows on the hottest day of the year.

"And from them, I received 'We're working on it. We're monitoring it.' And this is not good enough.

"I've been told that these fires are caused by the batteries from vapes.

"But residents of Calne are already worried about air quality after the smell. And so adding smoke to the mix just makes everybody even more concerned about their health and the health of their family.

Clearly exasperated, she continued: "I have now spoken to Hills, to the Environment Agency, Defra, even to the Prime Minister, but we are still not getting the answer that the residents of Calne deserve.

"So today, I insisted that Hills put in a night watchman for fire throughout the summer, while the risk of fire is high, and that they look at a system for separating out these batteries, if that is the cause, so that the residents of Calne can open their windows and stop worrying about the health risks that the landfill site is causing."

In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Hills said it was "concerned that the ongoing, incorrect disposal of batteries will eventually cause serious injury to its crews or members of the public," following two recent fires caused by lithium-ion batteries at one of its waste management sites and another in one of its vehicles.

Hills' divisional managing director Neil Pollard said: “I am worried that these fires will cause serious injury and property damage.

"Hills has been lucky so far with its teams and crews from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service attending to very difficult incidents quickly and safely.

“But, with batteries responsible for five fires at our facilities and a further four in our vehicles over the last year alone, I would encourage members of the public and businesses to think more carefully about the correct way to dispose of their batteries.”

In a message backed by Wiltshire Council, the firm said residents should:

• Dispose of batteries in designated collection containers at household recycling centres

• Use the kerbside battery collection service: place batteries in a sealed clear bag on top of your blue-lidded bin or beside your recycling sack.

• Put small electricals (smaller than a shoebox) beside your bin in a carrier bag

• If a battery can’t be removed from an item, recycle the whole item at an HRC in the designated electricals bin.

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"Everyone should remember that if any device lights up, moves, buzzes, or puffs and isn’t plugged in, it’s powered by a battery - and should never be binned," said the firm.

"Small everyday items like vapes, headphones and kids’ toys often have ‘hidden batteries’ inside and present a real danger to waste crews," said the company.

"Businesses can contact Hills Waste Solutions directly for more advice on the disposal of batteries and other hazardous materials."

The firm said battery fires were a national problem that had reached an all-time high with more than 1,200 incidents in the past year - up 71 per cent.