The EnvironCom facility, in Grantham, which housed state-of-the-art recycling technology for waste electrical and electronic (WEEE) items such as refrigerators and cathode ray tubes (CRT), went up in flames in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The remains of the building may now have to be torn down and company bosses have called in insurance assessors to review the future of the site.

About 80 firefighters were called in to tackle the blaze after the fire was reported at about 2.30am, and more than 100 people living in the area had to be evacuated.

A number of fire crews were still dampening down pockets of fire on Monday and part of the building had to be demolished to allow firefighters to safely contain the flames.

A statement released by Lincolnshire Police said: “Once the fires have been completely extinguished, the entire building will need to be demolished, which will be a protracted process and will have a continued effect on local residents.”

EnvironCom chiefs have been in talks with staff at the plant, insurance assessors and the owners of the site.

Chairman David Simpson said: “We would like to express our sincere thanks to the emergency services for their superb handling of this situation and apologise to local residents for the inconvenience caused.

“Given the extent of the damage, we will begin consulting with staff immediately about next steps.”

Last year EnvironCom announced a £25million deal with London Remade to create three facilities similar to its Grantham plant in the capital to help the city meet the demands of the WEEE Directive.

Kate Martin

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