British landfill site fire curbed

A landfill site in Cambridge caught fire this week, prompting droves of firefighters to dash to the area in an attempt to put out the blaze.

Overall, 27 firefighters descended upon the landfill site on Station Road in the early hours of yesterday morning to douse the flames. It is not yet known what caused the fire.

As thousands of tonnes of waste blazed, smoke was sent into the sky and stretched out over the nearby village of Doddington.

However, residents should not be concerned about any negative impact upon their health, incident commander Sean Brown told local publication Heart Cambridge.

"Fortunately at this site the waste material is screened before it is tipped so we're very confident the materials are non-hazardous. Nevertheless, it is still giving off a large plume of smoke," he explained.

In related developments, the Real Nappies for London scheme, which promotes the use of reusable nappies, resulted in 1,500 fewer tonnes of waste being sent to landfill in the south of England last year, Recycling Week informs.