Waste & recycling · Fire detection

AI fire detection for waste and recycling sites

Woodcock AI turns the CCTV a waste or recycling site already has into round-the-clock smoke and fire detection. It watches tipping halls, stockpiles, bale stores and battery quarantine areas for the first visible smoke or flame, including lithium-ion battery fires, and sends a video alert in seconds, day or night, so your team can check it and act before a smoulder becomes a blaze.

Book a free site assessment Explore a waste yard
  • Uses the cameras you already have
  • Indoors and outdoors, day and night
  • Supports your fire prevention plan; never replaces your fire alarm
Real detection · Waste yard Smoke detectedAlert sent with the clip

Real footage from cameras running Woodcock AI. Tap a clip to switch.

The problem

Waste fires start small, often when nobody is there

Stockpiles, tipping halls and open yards are too big, too open and too dusty for point detectors to cover well. Smouldering waste usually shows smoke long before flames, and most sites already have cameras pointed at exactly those risks.

256industrial waste fires attended by fire and rescue services in England in 2025MHCLG, Table A81
183in 2021, so the number has risen sinceMHCLG, Table A81
32of the 2025 incidents lasted more than 24 hoursMHCLG, Table A81
1,200+battery-related fire incidents in UK waste in 2023/24ESA battery fire briefing
Interactive · Waste yard

Where AI smoke detection watches on a waste site

Every area of a waste site has its own fire and security risks. Pick one to see what Woodcock AI looks for there and which detection modules we'd start with.

Illustrative 3D render of a waste site at night, with a tipping hall, stockpile bays, a bale store, skips, plant and a perimeter fence Illustrative render
Lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion battery fire detection for recycling sites

Lithium-ion battery fires in recycling sites can be detected by AI watching existing CCTV for the first visible smoke or flame, in tipping halls, on picking lines, in stockpiles and in battery quarantine areas, with a video alert in seconds. Batteries turn up in almost every waste stream, and once crushed or punctured they can go into thermal runaway and ignite the material around them.

  • Watch where batteries surfaceTipping halls, picking lines, shredder and baler infeeds and stockpiles, where a battery fire first shows as smoke.
  • Watch the quarantine areaSmoke, flame and people around the containers where damaged batteries are isolated.
  • Alert in seconds, out of hoursThermal runaway can start long after a load arrives. Alerts reach your team with the clip, at any hour.

Woodcock AI detects visible smoke and flame. It cannot see a battery inside a load before it starts to smoke, so it supports, rather than replaces, your waste acceptance checks.

Waste and recycling site at night with stockpiles watched by CCTV
Smoke detected · Tipping hall“Grey smoke is rising from a fresh tip near the back wall.”
Walkthrough

From first wisp to your team acting

Step through what happens when a stockpile starts to smoulder on a closed site.

  1. 02:41 on a Sunday. Pale grey smoke starts to rise from the back of a stockpile. The site is closed and nobody is in the yard.

  2. On the on-site edge server, Woodcock AI can flag faint smoke or small flames in under four seconds. It tells smoke apart from fog, dust and steam, which keeps false alarms down.

  3. The alert goes out by push notification, email or SMS to the people on your call list, with the video clip. Relay outputs can also trigger a fire panel, siren or other safety system.

  4. The on-call manager opens the clip on their phone and reads a plain-English description of what the camera saw, so they can judge it in seconds without driving to site.

  5. Your team follows your fire prevention plan and fire procedures: calling 999 where needed and, if it is safe, separating unburnt material or moving burning waste to the quarantine area.

  6. The event and clip are saved, so you can review what happened, update your fire prevention plan after a near miss and show what your detection picked up.

Fire prevention plans

How it supports your fire prevention plan

Permitted sites that accept combustible waste in England usually need a fire prevention plan (FPP) that follows the Environment Agency's guidance. Here's where camera-based detection fits, and you can check your whole plan with our fire prevention plan checklist.

Woodcock AI is not approved or endorsed by the Environment Agency. Whether a detection system is suitable for your FPP, and the certification evidence it needs, is for you to agree with the Environment Agency.

  • Detection in the guidanceThe EA lists “CCTV visual flame detection systems” among the automated systems that may be appropriate, alongside smoke and heat detectors and spark, infrared and ultraviolet detection.
  • Alarm in and out of hoursYour plan must show how the detection system raises the alarm both during working hours and when the site is closed. Woodcock AI alerts by push, email or SMS around the clock, with relay outputs on the edge server.
  • Security and arsonThe guidance expects security measures such as fencing, intruder alarms and CCTV, including out-of-hours arrangements. The same cameras can run intrusion detection.
  • Hot loads and visible heatingIt names signs of heating such as steam or smoke as something to look out for when waste is received. Cameras over the tipping area watch for visible smoke. Our guide to video smoke detection on existing CCTV explains how, and its limits.
  • CertificationThe guidance says design, installation and maintenance must be covered by a third-party certification scheme or meet a recognised standard, or you must show you can still meet the plan's objectives. Talk to us about your site and we'll be clear about what we can and can't provide.

Read our fire prevention plan checklist for waste sites. Source: Environment Agency, Fire prevention plans: environmental permits (GOV.UK).

Learn more

Detection, set up for your site

One platform for smoke and fire, intrusion, people, vehicles and PPE, on the cameras you already have.

Lithium-ion battery firesWhere they start and how to detect them Video AI vs thermalCompare detection approaches Smoke & fire detectionHow video smoke detection works How it worksConnect, choose edge or cloud, get alerts Waste & recycling packAll recommended modules for waste sites Intrusion detectionPeople and vehicles, not foxes and headlights Industrial sitesSmoke, fire, PPE and intrusion Video smoke detection guideHow it works on existing CCTV, and its limits FPP checklistCheck your plan against the EA guidance
Waste site FAQ

Questions waste operators ask

Anything else? Our team can talk you through your site and cameras.

Talk to the teamoffice@woodcock.ai
Is AI video detection faster than heat detectors?
It can see a fire sooner in the places heat detectors struggle. Point heat and smoke detectors need the heat or smoke to reach them, which can take a long time in a large hall or an open yard. Woodcock AI watches the camera view itself, and on the on-site edge server it can flag faint smoke or small flames in under four seconds. It works alongside heat detection, temperature probes and your fire alarm rather than replacing them.
Does it work outdoors, at night and in dusty conditions?
Yes. It runs on ordinary CCTV indoors and outdoors, day and night, including infrared cameras at night. The self-learning AI adapts to each camera's view, learns natural movement and weather, and is trained to tell smoke apart from fog, dust and steam, which keeps false alarms down on busy, dusty sites.
Can it help with our fire prevention plan (FPP)?
It can support it. The Environment Agency's fire prevention plan guidance lists CCTV visual flame detection systems among the automated detection systems that may be appropriate, and says your plan must show how the alarm is raised both during working hours and when the site is closed. Woodcock AI alerts people by push, email or SMS around the clock and can trigger relay outputs. It is not approved or endorsed by the Environment Agency: whether it is suitable for your plan, and the certification evidence needed, is for you to agree with the Environment Agency.
Can it detect lithium-ion battery fires?
It detects the visible signs of one: smoke and flame. A lithium-ion battery hidden in a load can start to smoke in the tipping hall, on a picking line or in a stockpile, and Woodcock AI watches those camera views for the first smoke or flame and sends the clip straight away. It can also watch your battery quarantine area for smoke, flame and people. It does not detect a battery before it starts to smoke, so your waste acceptance checks still matter.
What happens when it detects smoke or fire?
An alert goes out within seconds by push notification, email or SMS, with the video clip and a plain-English description of what the camera saw. Alerts to a monitoring centre (ARC) and phone-call alerts are available as optional add-ons. You choose who gets alerts, on which cameras and at what times. On the edge server, relay outputs can trigger a fire panel, siren or other safety system. Your team then verifies the clip and follows your fire procedures.
Does it replace our certified fire alarm or suppression?
No. Woodcock AI adds a visual early-warning layer to your CCTV. It complements, and does not replace, certified fire detection and alarm systems, suppression systems or statutory fire safety procedures.
Will it work with the cameras we already have?
Very likely. Most ONVIF and RTSP cameras and recorders connect, from 360p to 8K. The free site assessment checks your cameras and recorder and recommends what each camera should watch for. If a camera does not cover a risk area, we will tell you.
Live voice

Run a waste site? Ask us anything, live by voice

Ask our AI assistant how it would watch your stockpiles, tipping hall or battery quarantine area. Press the button and just talk.

Will it see smoke at night?Can it trigger our fire panel?Does it help with our FPP?

It’s an AI assistant, not a person. If it can’t answer something, it’ll offer to get our team to follow up. Voice chats are handled by ElevenLabs, our voice provider, and transcripts are kept for 90 days. Privacy policy.

Free site assessment

See it on your own yard

Tell us about your site. We'll review your CCTV and fire risks, recommend what each camera should watch for and, if it's a fit, set up a 30-day trial with no obligation.

Book my free site assessment Email office@woodcock.ai

Woodcock AI complements, and does not replace, certified fire detection and alarm systems.

Installing for a waste site? CCTV installers and fire-safety companies can resell Woodcock AI through our reseller programme.

Free site assessment