A fire at a Melbourne recycling plant which has been burning for 11 days has finally been extinguished.
The blaze at the Coolaroo recycling plant started on July 13 and hundreds were forced to evacuate the site due to the toxic smoke and ash with several people hospitalised.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade crews put out the blaze on Sunday but firefighters will remain at the plant until a formal handover to the site operator SKM which is expected on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Crews from South Australia and the ACT were expected to leave on Wednesday, an MFB spokeswoman said.
Residents were advised there would be "significant truck movements" in the next few weeks to take material from the site to other locations.
All of the material leaving the site would be temperature checked to ensure there would be no "re-ignition".
Upfield train station and 115 homes in the nearby suburb of Dallas were evacuated at the height of the blaze when air quality levels dropped to 'very poor'.
Four people, including a four year-old girl, were hospitalised and many more were treated for smoke-related complaints.
The site was due to be inspected for fire management practices when the latest blaze started.
More than 70 residents have registered for a legal class action against the operator.
The cause is still under investigation but there is no clear reason so far.
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