Toner cartridge recycler praised emergency response as investigation continues.
A major fire at Moock Environmental Solutions Ltd’s facility in Cumbernauld left six people injured and caused significant disruption. The incident broke out on Tuesday, 1 April at the company’s site on Mid Road, part of the Blairlinn Industrial Estate.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 2.35pm on Tuesday, 1 April, to reports of a building fire at 60 Mid Road, Blairlinn Industrial Estate, Cumbernauld. Operations Control initially mobilised two appliances to the scene and on arrival firefighters found one single storey building well alight. A further four appliances, two high reach appliances and specialist resources were mobilised to support firefighting crews. Six casualties were passed into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service.”
Firefighting operations continued for several days. As of Thursday, 3 April, one fire appliance and one high reach appliance remained at the scene. “Crews are working to fully extinguish the fire,” the spokesperson added.
Local residents were urged to keep windows and doors closed due to heavy smoke.
[letsrecycle.com, Daily Echo, Gazette-News]
Moock Environmental Solutions is a specialist in complex plastics recycling, particularly end-of-life toner cartridges. The business processes cartridges by separating plastic and metal components. Granulated plastics are used to produce composite decking materials, while recovered toner powder is converted into pigments for concrete blocks and bricks.
The company was founded in December 1999 and has operated under the current name since 2015. In 2019, entrepreneur Graeme Clowe took over the business and repositioned it as a leader in sustainable cartridge recycling. Under his leadership, the company has handled over half a million toner cartridges and received several awards, including a 3-star Zero Waste Award.
Companies House records show the firm qualifies as a micro-entity, filing simplified accounts. According to third-party sources, turnover for the year ending June 2023 was estimated at £880,400 ($1.1 million/ €1.02 million).
In a statement, the company thanked the emergency services and confirmed it is cooperating fully with authorities as investigations continue into the cause of the fire.
The Moock incident adds to a growing list of fire-related events across the toner and recycling sector. In January, an explosion at a toner cartridge recycling warehouse in Parla, Madrid—operated by Core / w0w (Waste Zero World)—resulted in a fire on outdoor storage grounds. One employee was injured, though swift action from firefighters prevented extensive damage.
In Australia, Close the Loop Group’s Somerton site was hit by a fire in 2022. The company responded by introducing new processing efficiencies. By early 2023, most operations were back online, including its TonerPlas manufacturing line.
Even OEMs have not been immune. In August 2021, Konica Minolta’s Tatsuno factory in Japan experienced an explosion linked to static electricity in the toner drying process. No injuries were reported, but operations were halted for months while safety measures were strengthened.
These incidents highlight the need for robust safety systems across the toner lifecycle, from manufacture to end-of-life processing.
