Fire Safety in Waste & Recycling
Starts with Flir Early Fire Detection
Early Fire Detection
Waste & Recycling Facilities
Safety That Pays Off
Waste and recycling sites bring together everything fire loves: dense piles of mixed material, hot machinery, lingering oils and residues, rubber dust, batteries, and high-temperature processing zones. A single hidden hot spot can quickly turn into a fast-moving fire that puts workers, equipment, and surrounding communities at risk.
Flir’s early fire detection solutions use thermal imaging to reveal heat anomalies in piles, conveyors, equipment, and storage areas long before smoke or flames appear. With continuous monitoring and smart alerts, you can stay ahead of fire risks, protect people, and keep critical recycling and recovery operations running safely.
Municipal Solid Waste
Municipal waste is unpredictable: organic material decomposes, trapped gases build up, and compacted piles can hide dangerous hot spots for hours or days. Limited visibility across large bunkers or outdoor heaps makes it hard for operators to see where trouble is brewing.
Flir pan-tilt thermal systems provide wide-area coverage over bunkers, tipping floors, and outdoor piles. Continuous thermal scanning and automated temperature alarms give facility managers and safety officers clear visibility into every corner of the site. With early warnings for smouldering zones, you can break down, cool, or move material before a small hot spot becomes a full-scale fire.
Scrap Metal Yards
Cutting, shearing, and welding are routine in scrap yards—and so are sparks. Residual oils, trapped fuels, and mixed materials can easily ignite when hot work meets hidden combustibles. Open yards and stacked scrap make it difficult to spot heat before it spreads.
Flir thermal monitoring keeps a constant watch over processing areas, torch zones, and stockpiles. Fixed cameras and perimeter monitoring highlight abnormal heat, while compact thermal sensors keep an eye on electrical panels and critical equipment. Yard supervisors and maintenance teams gain early insight into where sparks are landing and where residues may be heating up, preventing costly fires and downtime.
Tire Recycling
Shredding and granulating tires generates friction, heat, and fine rubber dust that is highly combustible. Smouldering material can remain hidden inside conveyors, chutes, or stockpiles, only becoming visible when it’s already out of control.
Flir thermal imaging focuses on key process points: shredders, conveyors, dust collection systems, and storage bunkers. By continuously tracking temperature changes and flagging hot spots, operations managers and safety technicians can intervene early—adjusting load, cooling material, or stopping equipment before rubber fires take hold.
E-waste Processing
E-waste operations handle batteries, circuit boards, and components that can release toxic fumes and ignite unexpectedly. Faulty cells, damaged power supplies, or shorted boards can spark electrical fires that are difficult to predict with conventional visual checks alone.
Flir thermal monitoring adds a crucial layer of protection to e-waste lines. Thermal cameras watch processing lines, sorting stations, and electrical panels for unusual heat, while analytics highlight emerging hot spots for operators. With early detection of overheating components, facilities can isolate high-risk material, protect workers from both fire and fumes, and maintain safer, more compliant operations.
Refuse-Derived Fuel Plants
RDF plants intentionally concentrate energy by turning waste into fuel—but that fuel can self-ignite in storage, silos, or processing zones. High temperatures, dust, and confined spaces make continuous monitoring essential to avoid smouldering fires and explosions.
Flir pan-tilt and fixed thermal systems monitor high-temperature zones, silos, conveyors, and storage areas around the clock. Temperature trending and alarm thresholds help plant managers and fire safety officers spot self-heating in RDF piles and equipment, enabling fast intervention before ignition. The result is safer fuel production, less unplanned downtime, and greater confidence in regulatory compliance.
Why Choose Flir?
- See danger before it burns: Detect spontaneous combustion, sparks, and heat buildup long before visible flames.
- Protect people, assets, and uptime: Reduce fire-related shutdowns, equipment damage, and costly clean-up.
- Cover complex, high-risk environments: From mixed waste piles to shredders, yards, and RDF silos, thermal imaging reaches the places people can’t.
- Support compliance and insurance requirements: Use thermal data and imagery to demonstrate rigorous fire-risk management.
- Integrate with existing systems: Connect Flir thermal monitoring to your control rooms, safety systems, and video management platforms for coordinated response.