A fire at Dunbar Landfill Site, near to the A1, has sparked concerns that the volume of landfill sent there is getting out of hand.

The large fire, which began at about 1.40pm yesterday, is still being treated by fire crews and could burn for days to come. 

Residents living nearby have been advised to keep their windows shut tonight as smoke continues to emerge from the site.

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: "A multi-agency incident response group meeting was held this afternoon to update information around an incident of a fire at the landfill site outside Dunbar.

"Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have been in attendance and continue to monitor the situation and have advised that the fire is ‘under control and being managed by the site operator, though may continue to burn for many days.’

"The current wind direction is blowing the plume of smoke away from main housing areas but general health advice is to keep windows closed and avoid being outside for long periods of time if the smoke is particularly bad.

"Further updates will be issued as appropriate."

Councillor Donna Collins lives near Innerwick, close to the site, and said she could see the smoke from her house.

She said: "The incident is still going on. I could see it from my house. Not the fire itself but a lot of smoke.

"I couldn't say for certain how big it was but it was a big fire."

The landfill site was taken over in April 2022 by Valencia Waste Management after being previously owned by Viridor.

The Dunbar and East Linton ward councillor said the site had grown significantly larger since being taken over.

She said: "It is getting bigger. There is a concern because it is only supposed to reach certain height and it looks like it is well above that.

"It is a concern of mine but the owners don't seem to want to address it.

"There have been attempts made to contact them but there has been little response."

Chris Bruce, chair of East Lammermuir Community Council, also expressed a concern about the size of the site.

He said: "The height of it is certainly getting bigger. It is difficult for us to say whether it is breaching regulations on how high it can be.

"We are also concerned that it is not being used appropriately. The site should only be burying materials related to quarries which cannot be burned.

"It has been suggested that the fire was started by some sort of explosion when rubbish was being moved down the hill. If that is true you have to question what exploded.

"We have had contact with the manager at the site in the past. They left several months ago and have had no contact from Valencia since.

"The smoke is still high now. Most is going out to the water but if the wind changes and it blows back this way, there could be a real danger."

Valencia Wast Management has been contacted for comment.

A Scottish Environment Protect Agency (SEPA) spokesperson added: "A SEPA officer has attended the site, which is authorised to accept non-hazardous waste, to ensure the operator is taking all necessary measures. We have provided advice and guidance on mitigations, alongside colleagues from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. 

“We are working closely with partners, including East Lothian Council and NHS Lothian, to monitor the situation through a multi-agency incident response group. This close liaison will continue for as long as required.

“The operator will be required to submit an incident report to SEPA in due course and officers will follow up any regulatory actions as required, once the incident phase is complete.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We were alerted at 1.40pm on Monday, August 28 to reports of commercial landfill site in Dunbar.

“Operations control immediately mobilised two appliances to the scene and on arrival firefighters found a well-developed rubbish fire.

“A further appliance was mobilised and firefighters extinguished the fire. Crews remain on the scene as they work to dampen down to make the area safe. No casualties were reported.”