Inspections at an Aberdeen recycling centre will continue today as firefighters work to ensure the fire is fully out.
Crews were first called to the Altens-based, Suez Recycling and Recovery UK Centre, on Friday and have been at the scene since.
The large scale fire has been monitored by fire officers since it broke out shortly after 4.30pm on Friday last week, and has been ongoing since.
Officers have been called back to the centre a number of time today, Wednesday, due to “hotspots” flaring up.
One appliance remains at the scene as inspections.
Firefighters have been working round-the-clock to dampen down hotspots throughout the plant.
Owners Suez told the BBC waste will now be taken 300 miles from Aberdeen to Hartlepool.
Recycling sorted in Aberdeen before 300-mile trip
Suez Recycling and Recovery has told BBC Scotland that recycling is being taken to the nearest appropriate facility.
It will be collected, collated, and transported to County Durham by lorry.
Suez regional director John Wilkinson said: “It’s important that people continue to recycle as normal – after initially being tipped at a local transfer station, the city’s mixed recycling is temporarily being taken to another sorting facility that is designed to accept the same mix of materials collected for recycling in Aberdeen, located near Hartlepool.
“Household rubbish is being tipped at another local transfer station and loaded on to larger trucks for disposal at Stoneyhill landfill to the north of Aberdeen.”
The fire meant that waste collections had to be suspended on Monday, with Saturday collections planned to catch up.
Mr Wilkinson added: “I would like to apologise to households who have experienced disruption and thank them for their patience.”
Air support officers deployed a police drone in Aberdeen this afternoon providing @fire_scot @ShireNPolice with aerial images of a large premises damaged by fire. Theses will assist during the post fire investigation. #Aberdeen pic.twitter.com/gbyEjSULmh
— Police Scotland Air Unit (@polscotair) July 13, 2022
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service area commander Matt Mason said crews had been sifting through up to 700 tonnes of mixed waste after fire.
“It was really challenging incident,” he told BBC Scotland. “It’s been a really complex incident.
“We’re hoping to withdraw shortly, but we’re working with the Suez team and local authority to be able to ensure that we’ve extinguished the main seats of the fire before we leave.
“We believe the fire took hold within the waste recycling plant itself but the investigations team will work to establish the exact location of the fire.”
Volunteers provided food and drinks for firefighters over the weekend.
More than 100 firefighters were in attendance at the height of the blaze, with teams from as far as Montrose, Peterhead, and Dundee joining the effort.
Workers at Suez recycling centre in Aberdeen have been redeployed or placed on paid leave by bosses in the wake of the fire.
Bin collections were reinstated by Suez on Tuesday, with collections on Saturday replacing those missed earlier in the week.
IN PICTURES: Drone footage shows extent of Altens recycling centre fire
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