European Metal Recycling (EMR) stated that it paused operations at its scrap metal shredder in Camden, New Jersey on May 29, after a two-alarm fire broke out at the facility early that morning. The fire began along the 1400 block of South 2nd Street, at EMR's site in the city's Waterfront South neighborhood, one of the larger scrap processing and export points on the US East Coast.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control within three hours and no injuries were reported. Residents were urged to remain indoors to avoid airborne chemicals and smoke, and homes with HVAC systems drawing outside air were asked to switch them off until the fire was fully extinguished, the City of Camden said. Air monitoring was conducted, and clearance was later given and the restrictions lifted.
Joe Balzano, chief executive of EMR USA, said the company believes a lithium ion battery ignited the fire, that it had stopped receiving recyclable material, and that it was pausing shredder operations pending an independent review of the cause and of the plant's fire suppression and detection systems.
The fire is the latest in a long series at EMR's Camden operations. SteelOrbis previously reported the March 10 fire aboard an EMR scrap barge in the Delaware Bay, citing the dangers of lithium ion batteries entering the scrapping process. The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General sued EMR in January over a history of now 15 fires at its Camden facilities in the past five years, after amending the complaint to add a February 26 shredder fire and the March barge fire.
EMR finished installing an upgraded fire suppression system consisting of heat sensors and automatic suppression cannons in May under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the City of Camden valued at roughly $6.7 million. The MOU followed a four-alarm fire in February 2025 that forced about 100 residents to evacuate. Camden Fire Chief Jesse Flax said one cannon initially malfunctioned while the rest performed as intended, according to media reports, while EMR maintained that the system worked. The firefighters were able to contain the fire with the support of the fire suppression system’s working parts. This fire was the first significant test of that system.
City, county, and state officials called on EMR to halt operations in Camden entirely. Mayor Victor Carstarphen told a press conference, "here we are again," and on June 1 Camden City Councilmember Arthur Barclay said the city planned to revoke an EMR business license. Balzano said the company was weighing its options and that the move did not reflect the progress made under the MOU.
Balzano has framed the recurring fires as part of a national problem of improperly discarded lithium-ion batteries finding their way into recyclable scrap, and called for clearer federal and state rules, “not to deflect responsibility, but because regulation is the only durable solution to this national problem.” Recyclers note that such batteries are extremely difficult to detect within large incoming volumes and can ignite under compression or shredding, though Camden officials have said that explanation no longer satisfies residents after repeated incidents.
In a joint statement, commissioner Jeffrey Nash, mayor Victor Carstarphen, state senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez, City Council president Angel Fuentes and Council vice president Arthur Barclay called for EMR to be shut down by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Camden County Health Department and every other agency with jurisdiction over the site. The officials said the lithium-ion battery explanation had become "old and irrelevant at this point" after repeated fires. Barclay, whose ward includes the EMR facilities, is seeking to revoke the company's city license, and the city administration is conducting the legal research to move forward at his request and with the mayor's support, the City of Camden said.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) said the latest fire reinforced why EMR's Camden facilities should not keep operating without greater accountability and oversight. The department noted it lacks comprehensive legislative authority to regulate scrap metal facilities, with its current role largely limited to permitting certain operating equipment, and said legislation now before the New Jersey Legislature aims to address that gap. The DEP called EMR's decision to pause shredding "a necessary step in light of the hazards the facility poses," and said it would continue its work in court to stop the fires.
A prolonged pause, or a license revocation, at the Camden shredder is not likely to tighten deep-sea scrap availability but may pressure dock-side prices along the US East Coast in the near term.