Material at recycling plant 'may have caused blaze'

A BLAZE at one of the city's largest recycling plants could have been caused by material brought into the plant, the company has said.

The fire at the Biffa plant on West Shore Road broke out just after 5am yesterday, with at least 35 firefighters battling the blaze.

The Biffa plant processes recycled waste from right across Edinburgh, including plastics, cardboard and paper.

An employee of Biffa, who did not want to be named, said the blaze could be seen from miles away.

He said: "I come from Rosyth, and you could see the smoke from the other side of the Forth.

"I didn't realise that it was my workplace that was on fire until I got much closer."

The intensity of the flames was enough to cause part of the roof to collapse directly above the centre of the fire, and there was evidence that the steel structure of the building had buckled and warped in the heat.