Fire burning at recycling centre in Melbourne's east
A fire is burning at a recycling centre in Melbourne's east.
Firefighters were called to the Knox Transfer Station at Wantirna South, off the EastLink motorway, as the blaze broke out in the recycling area about 2pm on Friday.
More than a dozen fire crews battled the blaze, described by a Country Fire Authority spokesman as "quite a big incident".
Large plumes of black smoke were visible from surrounding suburbs, causing delays on EastLink where the speed limit was lowered.
The fire was declared under control at 5pm, but the smoke continued to cause delays on EastLink for evening commuters.
People in the Glen Waverley, Knoxfield, Rowville, Scoresby, Vermont South, Wantirna, Wantirna South and Wheelers Hill areas have been advised to stay indoors if possible.
The blaze comes amid broader concerns about recycling being stockpiled in the wake of an export ban from China that has plunged the industry into crisis.
Victoria previously exported the vast majority of its recycling to China, where it was processed and burnt to fuel China's factories.
But in January, China banned imports of contaminated recycling material, devastating the sector.
The industry had previously warned the government of the ban's catastrophic impact on the market.
Recycling giant Visy told a parliamentary inquiry in October that “existing commercial arrangements will no longer be financially sustainable” following China's ban.
“The impacts of the China ban are already being experienced, with stockpiling of product in the hope that prices will improve. This excessive stockpiling is an environmental hazard and significantly increases the risk of fires, with a significant fire recently burning for over one week in Victoria,” the submission reads.
“Coupled with the increasing rates of recycling globally, [this] will see a glut of recyclable materials with 'no home', and prices will inevitably plummet due to supply and demand dynamics.”
Last year, a massive blaze at the SKM recycling plant in Coolaroo burned for 11 days, spewed toxic smoke over surrounding suburbs in Melbourne's north and blanketed much of the city in ash.
It revealed SKM had been forced to stockpile about 250 tonnes of recyclable waste per day, mostly at its sites in Laverton and Hallam. Some was kept at Coolaroo, but that was consumed when that plant went up in flames on July 13.
Friday's fire at Wantirna was far less severe and was brought under control within three hours.
It was unclear on Friday afternoon whether stockpiling was occuring at the Wantirna facility.