5 live Investigates: Recycle dump fires, loan charges and variable speed signs
David Lewis
Producer 5 live
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For some, where there’s muck there’s brass… but for fire crews, a large waste recycling dump poses serious problems. When they catch fire, the blaze can last for weeks and give off highly toxic chemicals.
One fire in a recycling plant in Worcestershire earlier this year burnt for almost two months, placing a huge demand on the emergency services and causing massive disruption to nearby businesses.
Mark Preece, Area Commander of Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service describes that fire:
Another in London involved a 6,000 tonne, 10-metre deep pile of rubbish that burnt for several weeks. The problem is that as waste decomposes, it generates heat which can spark a fire.
As the UK tries to reduce the amount of waste being buried in landfill sites, more is being stockpiled in recycling yards. The fire service says the risk of future blazes at these sites is increasing.
Fire chiefs now want tighter regulation of waste sites – and tighter checks to see if they are complying with their licence regulations. A number of fires have happened at sites where operators have been storing too much waste, in breach of their permits. We look at this on this Sunday’s 5 live Investigates.
Also this on the programme we investigate the business practices of a company called SGE Loans, which puts people in need of personal loans in touch with lenders. We’ve been receiving complaints from people who say they were charged for services they didn’t want and that the company takes a long time to refund fees when things go wrong.
SGE Loans say the number of complaints is small given the number of people they deal with and say they provide a good service.
We also follow-up on the variable speed signs on the motorway network in the West Midlands. Earlier in the year, we told you that the variable speed system on the M-42 had not been officially authorised, raising doubts that they could be used to enforce the speed limit. A number of motorists have challenged their speeding cases in court.
On Sunday 29th October, we’ll reveal the concerns of a motoring lawyer who feels motorists have been kept in the dark about the concerns over the legal status of the variable speed signs.
5 live Investigates Sunday 29 September 11am. Listen live or listen again here.
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