A thick plume of toxic smoke covered Adelaide's northern suburbs on Tuesday as fire crews tackled a large blaze at a plastics factory.

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The Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) said the fire started in a two-acre lot of plastic bins at a factory in Edinburgh.

More than 60 firefighters were at the scene and worked to prevent the fire spreading to nearby homes, bringing it under control about 10:00pm before extinguishing it shortly afterwards.

The MFS said fire crews had managed to save the factory.

The fire generated a large plume of smoke visible across the Adelaide area, stretching northwards towards Gawler.

The MFS advised all residents north of the fire to close their doors and windows due to the toxicity of the smoke.

Police also asked "onlookers" to stay away from the area as they were creating traffic hazards for residents and emergency services.