Shireoaks recycling plant: Regulator serves enforcement notice to firm behind controversial scheme due to ‘fire risk’

The company first took over the site of the now proposed Shireoaks Plastic Recycling Centre & Energy Recovery Facility around 2019, at which time it agreed to move a large amount of legacy waste which was present at the location.

The Environment Agency has confirmed to The Yorkshire Post that earlier this year, it served Envale with an enforcement notice demanding that the company takes action on moving the waste, which it said “poses a fire risk”. The agency’s notice demands that Envale move around 23,000 tonnes of waste from the site by the end of 2026.

A series of four fires previously broke out at the same site in 2013 and 2014, when it was under different ownership.

Envale did not respond to requests for comment.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “When Envale took control of the site in Shireoaks Road there was a large amount of historic waste left by a previous owner. It was agreed that they would remove the legacy waste.

“They did not meet the agreed deadline and the remaining waste still poses a fire risk. Therefore, we served the enforcement notice in July setting out a staged approach requiring Envale to remove all legacy waste by December 31, 2026.”

Last year, documents uncovered through Freedom of Information rules by a local residents action group found that the Environment Agency had accused Envale of being in breach of its permits on multiple occasions.

Between March 19, 2021 and May 6, 2022, Envale was issued with four notices from the Environment Agency, which said the firm had breached its environment permit for failing to prevent fire risk.

The company later told The Yorkshire Post that it was “cooperating with the Environment Agency, which has confirmed that our operations comply with our permit and have not violated any regulations.”

Speaking on the latest enforcement notice, spokesperson for the residents’ action group said: “We are delighted that enforcement action has finally been taken against Envale. For too long, residents have lived with the dangers of this legacy waste.”

Envale submitted a planning application for the recycling and energy recovery facility in June of last year. Over 900 written objections were submitted following the proposal.

Residents have voiced concern around the facility’s planned use of plastic pyrolysis, a controversial method of recycling.

Envale previously told The Yorkshire Post: “The Shireoaks Plastics Recycling Centre & Energy Recovery Facility will stop up to 20,000 tonnes per annum of non-recyclable plastic waste from going to landfill and generate up to 2.5 Megawatts of electricity – enough to power over 650 homes every year. The facilities are an answer to Nottinghamshire’s plastic and residual waste problem.”