Fifteen engines tackled 50 tonnes of burning waste on Landmann Way on 18 August. Unlike June's fire, bin rounds and the recycling centre are running normally.

Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters were sent to a waste facility on Landmann Way on the evening of Tuesday 18 August. Another fire on the same road in June disrupted bin rounds across the borough.

The London Fire Brigade took the first of more than 160 calls at 19:59, according to its incident record. Around 50 tonnes of household waste were alight. The brigade says the structure of the facility was severely damaged.

Crews came from East Greenwich, Old Kent Road, Deptford and surrounding stations. The fire was under control by 02:16 on Wednesday 19 August. A 32 metre ladder and a 64 metre ladder were used as water towers to fight the flames from above.

Station Commander Duncan Rees said from the scene:

Crews worked hard in difficult conditions to bring the fire under control. […] Whilst the fire is under control, crews will remain on scene into the morning and afternoon as they work to extinguish the remaining pockets of fire.

Rail lines nearby were closed as a precaution while crews worked. Landmann Way runs beside the railway approaches at New Cross Gate.

The cause is not yet known. The brigade’s record has not been updated since 05:30 on 19 August.

Timeline of the Landmann Way waste fire on 18 and 19 August 2026, from the first 999 call at 19:59 to the fire being brought under control at 02:16

It is in Lewisham, whatever you saw it called

Landmann Way is in Lewisham, in New Cross Gate ward, despite the Deptford and Greenwich labels that attached to the fire as it was reported. The Ordnance Survey-backed address lookup returns London Borough of Lewisham for the road, at postcodes SE14 5RS and SE14 5RL. The fire brigade filed the incident under Greenwich, which is the neighbouring borough.

That matters for a practical reason: it is Lewisham’s waste service, not Greenwich’s, that sits on this road.

This is not the June fire, and the difference matters

Lewisham has been here already this year. A fire at Landmann Way on Monday 8 June closed the council’s own Reuse and Recycling Centre and disrupted collections across the borough. The council published an article at the time. It told residents:

  • rubbish and recycling services were delayed
  • bins should still go out as normal
  • there was no indication asbestos had been stored at the site, though reports would be investigated
  • debris in surrounding streets and parks would be cleared once crews could get in

Nothing comparable has been published this time, and the council’s own pages show services running.

Checked on Sunday 23 August:

The council’s recycling centre and the waste facility that burned are separate operations on the same road. We have not been able to confirm first hand which company runs the site that caught fire, and the fire brigade’s record does not name it, so we are not naming it here.

What it means for you

Put your bins out as normal. On the council’s own published information there is no borough-wide delay this time, which is the opposite of the position after the June fire.

If that changes, the council’s bin collection days page is the page to watch, and our own Lewisham bin collection days guide explains how the rounds work.

The recycling centre at Landmann Way is open to Lewisham residents only, free, with no booking needed. Take photo ID such as a driving licence or passport, plus proof of address such as a utility bill or bank statement.

If you find debris you think came from the fire, the council asked residents in June to report it through the Love Clean Streets app, or to call 020 8314 6000 for anything urgent. That remains the route for street debris.

We will update this page if the fire brigade names a cause or the council issues a service notice.