Smoke Across A14 - between Wellingborough and Kettering

[niva441]

Using the A14 on Friday and earlier today there was a bank of smoke across the road on the outskirts of Kettering. Does anyone have any idea what's causing it and how come it's still going?

[Matt172]

It's a fire at the recycling plant in Burton Latimer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonsh...

[LotusOmega375D]

It's a fire at a waste processing site at Burton Latimer. The operators sound like a shadey bunch and were fined 12 grand earlier this year for some other misdmeanour. During the summer they were warned by the Fire Brigade that there was a fire risk at the premises. Low and behold in September there's a huge blaze with about half of Northants' Fire Service called out to deal with it: that took 2 weeks to extinguish. The A6 was closed for a few days I believe.

2 weeks later there's another even bigger one. This is a completely separate one and has been burning for a few days now as you have seen. In fact I'm just heading off that way in a few minutes, so will see if the night's shower has extinguished it. I feel very sorry for the locals.

The company's name is "Think Environment". Haha. I wonder how many tonnes of CO2 that place has emitted in the past month.

[djdestiny]

I live ten mins drive east from there and can smell it here this morning

[baughany]

We've had the cars covered in ash from the fires most days here in Thrapston. On Friday the smoke drifting across the A14 really was cutting visibility right down.

I wonder what sort of fine the company are facing?

[mycroft]

I live quite close , thankfully the wind is blowing away at the moment . Apparently the fire service can't manage the waste water so they are letting it burn . I assume this means that enough water to put out a plastic fire would pollute the watercourse , however we are told the smoke is not toxic . not sure what to believe .

[Martin F]

What is going on with this fire, it's been burning for nearly 4weeks now!

I drive to the midlands around once a week from Essex and can't believe the same fire is still burning!

[Seeker UK]

The fire brigade is letting it burn itself out. Unfortunately there are a lot of paper bundles there to burn out.

[Blipi]

I live in Blatimer and thankfully the wind doesn't blow the nasty smoke or 'steam' as the company claim it to be, my way.

Even missed the hoofing great flames when it as alight!

Feel very sorry for those who do suffer it, the smell is dreadful, as I suspect the fall out would be too.

No doubt the company are wanting to sell the land for development since silly numbers of houses need to apparently be built in the area.

Can't see the fires going out for a while sadly.

[gazzapax]

I too have been travelling from the Midlands from Essex, and been really suprised its still alight.

Perhaps, after the M5 crash, which now seems to have been caused by smoke from a bonfire, the fire brigade might rethink their strategy - it's a dangerous policy they've decided upon.

[LotusOmega375D]

Fire's supposed to be out now at long last after 30 days (this being the second blaze) according to telly report this morning. Had some talking head on from the Think Environment company that runs the site: he didn't appear very contrite, but just bleated on about how much money it had cost them. Probably saved them more though in avoiding any waste proceesing costs for that little lot.

I can't help thinking that if this had been a month-long fire within the M25, there would have been questions in Parliament and daily TV reports about it, especially in regard to what happened on the M5 last week.