Green bin collections to resume after waste fire

The building, used to store household recycling, was demolished so the fire could be put out

Green waste bin collections that were suspended for nearly two weeks after a large fire at a waste site will begin again on 21 July.

The fire at Elstow Waste Transfer Station near Bedford broke out at about 21:00 BST on Friday, 4 July and was finally put out on Thursday, 11 July.

The fire involved a large quantity of non-hazardous mixed recyclable household waste.

The building was demolished to enable firefighters safe access to extinguish the flames, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed.

Bedford Borough Council confirmed collections will start again from Monday and thanked residents for their "kind words and patience whilst we made sure your recycling service was not impacted by the fire".

Central Bedfordshire Council said the fire caused some delays to collections, but crews had since caught up.

It confirmed it was still not operating its bulky waste collections and the Thorn Turn Trade Household Waste Recycling Centre would remain closed until the end of the week.

Bedford Borough Council said green waste collections will restart on 21 July

The fire service said a number of contractors would remain on site so the deconstruction of the building could continue.

"This may result in dust being seen from the site," it said.

At the height of the blaze areas including Wixams, Shortstown, Hayes and Houghton Conquest were affected by the smoke.

People were told to keep their windows and doors closed, but that no longer applied.

The building, used to store household recycling, was declared unsafe by a structural engineer

The fire was put out after it burnt for nearly a week