A national campaign to ‘Stop Battery Fires’ is running throughout May to remind the public that they should use designated drop off points to recycle their batteries and electrical items and never bin these in household rubbish or recycling bins.

There were over 1200 battery fires in bin lorries in the UK in the last 12 months. In Bexley alone 8 fires have been caused by batteries thrown into household bins for rubbish and recycling.  Vehicles and the infrastructure at the Council’s Transfer Station were damaged and one lorry trailer had to be written off.  The fires have also caused service delays as waste sites have had to be closed whilst they are dealt with. If the fire is in a lorry all of the rubbish has to be tipped out regardless of where the vehicle is located, potentially damaging the road surface, requiring costly repairs, and causing traffic delays on major roads. Once the fire has been put out the rubbish needs to be collected a second time before it can finally be disposed of.  All of this costs council taxpayers time and money unnecessarily.

Lithium-ion batteries are hidden inside many everyday household electricals, from laptops, mobile phones and tablets to electric toothbrushes, vapes and ear pods. These batteries can become crushed or damaged in bin lorries or at waste sites if they are placed in any rubbish and recycling bins   incorrectly which can lead to fires in bin lorries or at waste sites. When crushed or damaged lithium-ion batteries can be dangerous to the public, waste operators and firefighters as they cause fires that can lead to explosions and chemical exposure, and these are especially challenging to tackle.

Councillor Richard Diment – Bexley’s Cabinet Member for Places said, 

Fires involving the incorrect disposal of lithium-ion batteries are a disaster waiting to happen and unfortunately, we are seeing an increasing number of incidents in Bexley.  These fires are preventable so please dispose of your electrical items and batteries correctly, take them to a designated drop off point, don’t put them in your green bin.”

You can recycle batteries at all of our libraries and in the Council Civic Offices, DA6 7AT.  You can also recycle batteries and old electrical items at the reuse and recycling centres at Foots Cray, DA14 5HS or at Thames Road, DA1 5QJ.  Many retailers also have drop off points that can be used to recycle batteries.  

Find out the best way to recycle your items by using our new A to Z searchable guide.