"nine inch shell was discovered in one of the skips...."

Past incidents has shown our industry what can go wrong when unexploded ordinance enters our recycling stream. Here is recent story illustrating the hazard of unexploded ordinance. 

Part of the a Totnes industrial estate in the United Kingdom was sealed off and evacuated for almost two hours after someone dumped a suspected bomb in a recycling centre skip.

Around 100 people were evacuated from factories and offices around the county council recycling centre in Babbage Road after the nine inch shell was discovered in one of the skips during the week of November 13, 2016.

Police implemented a 100 metres exclusion zone around the recycling centre until a team from the Royal Naval Bomb Disposal unit arrived to collect the shell.

The bomb disposal team were at the centre for around ten minutes before they took away the shell, a smaller shell and some blank ammunition rounds.

Factories – including a foundry only yards away (Foundry & Fabrication (Totnes) Ltd.)- and other businesses near the site were forced to close down for two hours.

The shells were dumped in the skip along with military clothing, and other equipment.

The identity of the person who threw them in is unknown. They were spotted by a worker at the recycling centre who immediately called in the police.

Said a police spokesman: ‘People need to consider what materials they are bring into the recycling centre.

‘Clearly on this occasion because it was an item that was considered dangerous the centre was closed down and a 100 metres exclusion zone was imposed.’

He said that the person who had brought in the items should have contacted the police who would have ‘facilitated the removal of the items’.

Because they didn’t their actions caused major disruption to nearby businesses and members of the public trying to access the recycling centre.

At one point then police came close to closing down and evacuating the Leatside GP surgery which was sited just outside the exclusion zone.

The drama began at 11am on Tuesday last week after the shells were spotted and the police called in.

Police officers from Paignton and Dartmouth were drafted in to help evacuate the businesses.

The workers were not able to return until around 12.45pm when the recycling centre was also reopened.

We commend the recycling worker who observed the individual dumping the items in the skip and immediately called the police. A catastrophe could have occurred if the worker did nothing. 

Keep up the good work!

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