Trash Fire Breaks Out at Sunset Park Recycling Facility on Earth Day

A heaping pile of trash caught aflame at a Sunset Park recycling plant and sent a giant cloud of smoke billowing over Kings County as New York awoke for Earth Day 2022 on Friday.

Firefighters responded to a call just after 7 a.m. of a massive scrap fire at the Sims Municipal Recycling facility at 472 2nd Avenue, within the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Dozens of smoke-eaters arrived on site soon after the inferno commenced and a large cloud of black smoke rose hundreds of feet in the air.

An FDNY spokesperson said that the fire was under control a little after 9:15 am. There were no reported injuries. The Fire Department said that as of Friday, there was no cause to suspect any environmental concerns will arise from the fire or the smoke fumes.

Sims, which operates three recycling facilities in the five boroughs and two in New Jersey, processes 100 percent of the recycled metal, glass and plastic and 50 percent of the paper collected by the Sanitation Department throughout the city, according to its website.

The Sunset Park depot is the company’s newest facility, having opened back in 2013. The award-winning waste hub, designed by renowned architect Annabelle Selldorf and described by the firm as “the largest and most sophisticated plant for commingled residential recyclables in North America,” was designed with sustainability in mind, utilizing wind and solar power for its operations, treating stormwater on site, and taking advantage of a location on both the waterfront and railway to eliminate a touted 240,000 miles of trips that DSNY trucks would have otherwise made.

The facility also hosts tour groups, mostly consisting of school field trips; more than 8,000 visitors come through each year to witness the trashy magic in action, according to the architecture firm’s website.

Sims did not respond to multiple requests for comment by press time.

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.

Related Stories

• Not Just Another Garbage Processing Plant
• Barge Sinks Into Newtown Creek Off Greenpoint But Fuel Spill Unlikely
• Pols Come Out Against Gowanus Power Project on Barge Near Sunset Park

Email tips@brownstoner.com with further comments, questions or tips. Follow Brownstoner on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

The recycling center in 2021. Photo via Wikimedia Commons