Read High Peak MP Robert Largan's latest column.

I’ve spent a lot of my time issuing warnings this year.

Back in January, I first highlighted the danger of rising energy bills in the wake of Russian aggression and the need for radical action to help households and businesses through this winter and buy us time to scale up our own energy production (both renewable and nuclear) to ensure our long-term energy security.

In July, I started warning about the precarious economic situation and the Government’s limited fiscal room for manoeuvre, urging politicians to resist the temptation of unfunded tax cuts or unfunded spending commitments.

The subject of this week’s column, however, concerns warning about another important and oft overlooked phenomenon: dumpster fires.

Fire and rescue services attend around 300 significant fires at waste sites each year. The two most common causes of these fires are spontaneous combustion and arson.

Without action, dumpster fires can rage on for long periods of time, spreading quickly and causing major structural damage.

For some, watching these fires rage elicits a grim fascination and the chance to speculate about just how long it will continue to burn.

Extinguishing a dumpster fire is risky business and likely to be messy. The run-off from water used to extinguish the flames is likely to be particularly toxic and potentially damaging to the environment. Sometimes it is argued that it is better to just let the fire eventually burn itself out.

But these fires produce large smoke plumes which carry airborne particles over long distances. Carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, dioxins, and furans are all released into the atmosphere, threatening the health and wellbeing of those in the surrounding area. Potent pools of leachate can also form in nearby waterways.

The longer the fire is left to rage, the greater the danger to the integrity of the skip, as the metal starts to warp and twist out of shape, beyond all recognition, eventually becoming completely unusable.

I am deeply committed to protecting our environment and our beautiful country. I firmly believe that we need tackle dumpster fires when they occur, regardless of how messy or unappealing this may be.

Indeed, the act of extinguishing the flames could well be the end of the skip they originated in. But urgent action is necessary nevertheless.

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