Clouds of “smoke” billowing out of the Beddington incinerator on Monday afternoon (October 24) was actually steam, according to Viridor which runs the facility.

But one local councillor still fears it could contain harmful particles.

Footage taken by a local shows grey clouds rising from the top of the facility with the person taking the video claiming it smelt like burning plastic.

He said: “Looks like the incinerator is on fire, stinks of burning plastic man.”

However, debate on social media saw some claim the puffs of “smoke” were disappearing too quickly meaning it must be steam.

Sheldon Vestey, a Labour councillor who lives close to the incinerator, noticed the “smog” while visiting the shops in London Road near Hackbridge Station.

Mr Vestey said: “It wasn’t coming from the chimney, as I understand it was a venting incident. When I came back I shut all my windows.”

He said a response from Viridor said the issue was due to a “shutdown of the electrical export” meaning the steam has to “vent” out another way, rather than through the chimney.

Cllr Vestey said: “It happens once a quarter and whenever that happens people see a thick grey smog so it is often mistaken for  fire. In the vapour there are going to be other particulates.

"If it is not dissipating it is definitely something more, the steam from your kettle doesn’t hang about in the air.”

And the councillor said he is concerned about the impact on air quality, he said: “We’re living next to an incinerator that’s burning thousands of tonnes of waste.

"They are not even monitoring for some of the particulates and how much of that is making its way into our waterways and we probably won’t know whether there is a risk to our children for 20 or 30 years.”

Earlier this month Viridor, which runs the facility in Beddington, blamed laughing gas bottles for a series of emissions breaches this year.

Known as the “energy recovery facility,” general waste is incinerated rather than sent to landfill.

It is used by boroughs part of the South London Waste Partnership; Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Kingston.

A spokesperson for Viridor said: “There was a technical issue at the Beddington ERF on Monday afternoon, which resulted in a temporary cessation of waste processing.

"During periods such as this, steam that is usually used to drive the turbine it is instead vented in a controlled manner via an outlet in the roof of the main ERF building.

“This steam comes from clean, filtered water and is entirely separate from the flue gases created from the combustion of waste, which are released via the two stacks.

"The steam is odourless and poses no risk to the environment or human health.

“Following an investigation the ERF started processing waste later in the evening on Monday and there was further steam venting before the turbine was reconnected. Throughout this period the ERF operated within its Environmental Permit, which is issued and monitored by the Environment Agency.”