Firefighters were called on to deal with an incident at a plant recycling household waste.
The alarm was raised at about 6am, today, by an employee arriving for work at New Earth Solutions, in Gibbet Lane, Shawell, near Lutterworth.
A spokesman for the firm, which processes 'black bag' waste – to remove plastic, metals and other reusable materials that would otherwise go to landfill – said: "The first member of staff who arrived this morning in the screening hall said there was smoke.
"As a precaution, the fire service was called, who attended.
"What they essentially did was standby while our team, with their assistance, removed the smouldering material out from the building."
He added: "Once this operation was completed, the crews stayed to monitor the situation, and damp down the area, as a precaution.
"No-one was injured in the incident, which was under control, but we felt it was better to have the experts on hand just in case."
Crews from Lutterworth, Hinckley and Rugby attended the initial incident.
They were relieved, late morning, by colleagues from Leicester, who remain at the site to oversee the clean-up operation.
A fire service spokesman said about 350 tonnes of recyclable plastic material was involved in the 'fire', the cause of which is under investigation.
The spokesman said crews were still hosing down the smouldering material at the site this evening.
