Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance (1) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and (2) the Environment Agency can give to (a) Sunderland City Council, and (b) Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority in clearing up the site of a recent waste fire at the former Alex Smiles waste and recycling centre on Deptford Terrace in Sunderland.

The Environment Agency (EA) has worked closely with Sunderland City Council (SCC) and the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) to look at all opportunities to remove the waste at the former Alex Smiles site in Sunderland.

During the company’s administration process, hazardous and inert waste were removed from the site. However, the company’s lack of funds resulted in large quantities of combustible waste remaining on site. At that time the EA served an Enforcement Notice on the administrator to ensure the site was secure. The EA believes that had these measures not been undertaken the risks to public health and the environment from this fire would have been greater.

Prior to the start of the fire on Monday 14 May, the EA was working with SCC on a remediation plan involving contributions from SCC and a manufacturing firm located adjacent to the site. This plan remains the preferred solution of all partners and will be further assessed and developed once the fire is out. As part of this process, the EA would have adopted an enforcement position involving some waste material being capped on site.

Since the fire broke out the EA has been working closely with SCC and the FRS to respond to the waste fire in order to minimise the risk to public health and the environment. This included a joint tactical approach to both tackling the fire and media and communications.

The EA is working with waste contractors to ensure all waste that is removed to tackle the fire is disposed of properly and any necessary permissions are in place in time for removal work. The EA provided the initial air quality monitoring and continues to provide water quality monitoring to assess the environmental impact and inform Public Health England’s advice to the public.

The EA will continue to work with all relevant partners to explore opportunities to remove the entirety of the waste on site once the fire has been extinguished.

Defra has not received any requests for assistance from Sunderland City Council or Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority. The EA are the body responsible for the waste enforcement and operational issues.