Residents urged to dispose of batteries correctly

Leicestershire residents are being urged not to throw out dead batteries with household rubbish or recycling, following a string of fires at local waste sites.

The County Council says there have been three fires at Loughborough Waste Transfer Station within the last six weeks, believed to have been caused by improperly discarded batteries and small electrical items.

Waste and recycling centres house combustible materials and lithium-ion batteries, which power mobile phones, laptops, tablets and toothbrushes, and can be extremely volatile if damaged during collection and processing.

Trevor Pendleton, Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for waste disposal, said: “Improperly discarded batteries can become easily punctured or crushed when disposed of with your general waste, leading to fires at local recycling and waste facilities. 

"Not only does this endanger the lives of waste site workers and cause thousands of pounds worth of damage, it can have a huge knock on effect to local waste services.

“If one of our waste transfer stations were to burn down, it would make things very difficult for us to provide outlets for kerbside bin collections. 

“Therefore, we urge all residents to please recycle their batteries and electrical items responsibly by using battery collection points in shops, supermarkets and at recycling and household waste sites.”

For further advice on how to safely dispose of batteries and electrical goods, please visit http://www.lesswaste.org.uk/2020/10/27/take-charge-of-zombie-batteries.