Fire at the CDW waste sorting center “Nomales” has been extinguished; cleanup work on the site has begun

Late on May 1, a fire broke out at the Rumbula construction waste sorting and recycling center “Nomales,” operated by CleanR Verso, a subsidiary of AS CleanR Grupa, where unsorted construction waste sent for recycling was burning. On May 3, at 5:40 p.m., the fire was completely extinguished, and firefighting was finished. The company has started cleanup efforts in the area and is working to eliminate the consequences.

After the extinguishing work was completed, a site assessment and safety review were conducted.

“The fire was promptly localized and extinguished. We are thankful to the emergency services for their professional work – the fire was localized in a relatively short time, approximately three hours, and in the following days all necessary actions were taken to eliminate the risks of re-ignition completely,” says Ēriks Gusevs, Chairman of the Board of CleanR Verso.

He also notes that unsorted construction waste, like unsorted household waste, poses a higher fire risk, while sorting significantly reduces these risks. To lower the chance of fire, the company is taking measures in three areas.

“We cannot completely eliminate the risk of similar accidents, but we can improve processes to respond to them more quickly and effectively to prevent consequences. First, to reduce risks, additional operational processing of waste is implemented, along with regular territory checkups and video surveillance to enable the timely detection of smoke. Second, in accident situations, operational cooperation with responsible services is ensured, resources for extinguishing are available, including a water pond, and waste is localized to limit the spread of fire. Third, after the accident, consequence assessments and situation evaluations are carried out,” explains Gusevs.

This approach not only allows recycling up to 98% of the accepted waste, reducing the amount deposited in landfills, but also enables detection and prompt prevention of accidents without causing a significant impact on the environment.