New Jersey sues recycling company after multiple scrapyard fires in Camden fill neighborhood with smoke
New Jersey is suing a recycling company over a series of fires at scrap metal yards in Camden.
State officials say there have been at least 12 major fires over the past five years at EMR Advanced Recycling facilities and argue that the unsafe conditions are a nuisance that's affecting public health.
In the lawsuit filed by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette against the company, the state says smoke that filled nearby blocks during the fires has caused residents in the area to suffer from acute respiratory illnesses.
Officials want the court to order EMR to better control the risk of fires, including by adding more surveillance, watering piles of metal, reducing the height of scrap piles and hiring an outside consultant or engineer to evaluate the operation and make recommendations.
A fire at an EMR junkyard in Camden in February 2025 burned for more than six hours. No injuries were reported, but dozens of residents evacuated because of the smoke and air quality concerns. The company later said a lithium-ion battery mistakenly brought to the facility likely caused the fire.
The Sacred Heart School in the Waterfront South neighborhood had to evacuate and close because of smoke and metallic odors from a fire in 2021, and more than 30 families evacuated from their homes, the lawsuit claims. A firefighter and two residents were hospitalized for smoke inhalation in that fire, it says.
At a meeting about the fires in October 2025, residents said the evacuations and other concerns were taking a toll on the community.
EMR owns and operates metal recycling facilities that collect, process and recycle scrap metal in the Camden Waterfront South neighborhood and elsewhere. The complaint argues that the fires are the result of risky and hazardous conditions at EMR facilities.
"It is outrageous that EMR has failed to correct the dangerous conditions at its facilities in Camden—conditions that have resulted in over a dozen hazardous fires in recent years that threaten the lives and health of Camden residents. We're taking action today to hold EMR accountable for its reprehensible conduct and to protect Camden residents," Attorney General Platkin said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
In a statement, EMR said it's working with the city to improve fire suppression at its facilities. A statement from the recycling company is below:
In August, after months of working cooperatively, the City of Camden and EMR entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to provide a comprehensive framework for fire suppression at our Camden shredder at a cost of $6.7 million. It appears the current Attorney General is not aware of the MOU and EMR's fire suppression investments. We look forward to working with the State of New Jersey to address the scourge of lithium ion battery fires plaguing recycling facilities throughout the country. More than 500 people work for EMR in Camden including 150 Camden residents. The safety of our employees and the Camden community residents is our number one priority.