Two fires involving discarded hotfix plastic waste broke out in Surat’s Puna area early Monday, prompting separate operations by Surat Fire and Emergency Services (SFES) and exposing a growing open-dumping problem after municipal collection of the material was halted.
The first fire was reported near Archana School at about 4.13am, according to the SFES control room. Firefighters reached the location and extinguished the blaze before it spread to nearby properties. During the operation, the team found another fire around 500 metres away near a creek and deployed a second response to contain it.
No casualties or property damage were reported in the two incidents. Fire officials said the material involved was thin plastic sheet waste generated by hotfix units, which use the sheets to apply rhinestones to fabric. Once discarded, the plastic can ignite quickly and burn rapidly, creating a risk for buildings, vehicles and other assets in surrounding areas.
The incidents highlight the operational consequences of a change in the handling of this waste. Surat Municipal Corporation had collected plastic waste from hotfix units for several years, despite the material falling under a prohibited category. The collection process was discontinued over the past few months, after which unit owners allegedly began dumping the waste in open spaces at different locations across the city.
A fire official said it was suspected that some people were setting the dumped waste alight. “It being a highly inflammable plastic, it immediately catches fire and burns within minutes,” the official said. The official also warned that flames from such waste could damage nearby properties and trigger secondary incidents if they spread.
The hotfix industry generates tonnes of this plastic waste daily, according to the report. Its disposal therefore presents a recurring municipal management challenge rather than an isolated fire response issue. Open spaces, including areas near schools, properties and creeks, can become informal accumulation points when commercial waste streams are not collected or safely channelled.
SFES officials said similar incidents had occurred in the past. In some cases, vehicles were damaged after fires broke out in heaps of discarded hotfix plastic waste. The previous incidents indicate that the material has already created repeated risks for public and private property in Surat.
The immediate response in Puna prevented the two fires from spreading, but the report does not specify whether the municipal corporation has introduced an alternative collection system, designated disposal points or enforcement measures for hotfix units. The next civic steps will determine how the city addresses the waste after collection was discontinued and how it prevents further accumulation in open areas.
