Valencia Waste Management has apologised for the “inconvenience caused” by the ongoing fire at Dunbar landfill site, 4km south east of the town, which it expects to be out by this evening.

The fire, which has been burning since Monday, continues to smoulder but Valencia hope to have the fire extinguished today.

Smoke from the site has been blowing across Dunbar, Innerwick and the surrounding areas with residents reporting a strong smell of burning plastic and some complaining of sore throats.

A spokesperson for Valencia, which owns the site, said: “A surface fire was reported at our Dunbar landfill site on Monday with East Lothian fire service attending the site and are working to extinguish the fire, before monitoring the waste mass as it cools.

“Valencia Waste Management would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by the fire around our Dunbar landfill site and appreciate there is an ongoing presence of smoke in the local community.

“We will undertake a full investigation into the cause of the fire, working with the authorities, and we thank the East Lothian fire service and SEPA for their assistance throughout this incident.”

The spokesperson could not confirm what the cause of the fire was but reiterated that a full investigation was being carried out in response to the incident.

There is speculation that disposable barbecues or vapes could have been the source of the fire. The spokesperson could not confirm that this was the cause of the fire.

The spokesperson said while they were confident this would not happen again, they could not guarantee a similar incident would not occur in the future. They would not confirm that there was no fault on the part of Valencia in relation to the fire.

Viridor sold the 250 acre site to Valencia Waste Management last year.

It disposes of thousands of tons of solid domestic waste and building site waste daily from Edinburgh and other nearby communities.