In recent years there has been a significant increase in fire incidents in the waste, disposal and recycling industries. Apart from financial or even personal injuries, this results in high damage to image and increased insurance sums. Research by universities, fire protection experts and industry relates to the causes and possible defenses. The causes for the frequent fires are diverse, differ from other industrial sectors and so e.g. in more than a quarter of the events, spontaneous ignition can be concluded. In over 40% of the fires, however, the cause is unclear, as it can no longer be determined afterwards. The reasons for this are often found in contaminants in the waste, which cause the fire to break out everywhere in the processing plants, warehouses or on conveyor systems. Due to the increasing number of contaminants, such as incorrectly disposed of lithium ion batteries, fire incidents will continue to increase in the future. (See Nigl & Pomberger 2018, pp. 89-93) Conveyor systems, especially belt conveyors, connect all parts of the system and can be viewed as a kind of fuse. For this reason, rapid fire detection and extinguishing is essential. However, fire protection is understood as a trade that is added to the finished system and not as a measure that must be taken into account in the design phase. Processing and sorting systems are set up in a confined space and the highest possible throughput should be made possible by means of short conveying paths. Tests on the speed of fire spread depending on the construction show that the speed of spread increases sharply from an incline of 20°. In addition, due to physical effects such as the trench and chimney effect, it has a negative effect and the speed of propagation increases many times over. The fire intensity also increases, which makes an efficient extinguishing system in connection with rapid fire detection necessary. Together with the results from the tests, research results and specifications from the professional associations, a catalog of measures can be created that is intended to help ensure the best possible fire protection when planning a new system.