Fire in waste collection truck caused by small lithium battery

The diligent waste collection crews spotted the smoke and called the fire brigade who arrived and put out the fire within just 10 minutes.

Not only did this cause damage to the truck itself, it created a serious safety risk for our teams and members of the public.

Thankfully no one was harmed but this near miss is a reminder of the importance of recycling batteries correctly. They must be taken to a dedicated battery recycling point and not placed in your usual rubbish and recycling.

There are many battery recycling points across the borough, including in each of our libraries. All retailers must also provide free recycling collection points for used batteries if they sell over 32kg of batteries each year (roughly equivalent to one pack of 4 AA batteries per day).

Paul White, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “It’s vital we all familiarise ourselves with the recycling rules to prevent serious incidents like this.

“Our recycling A-Z has details on most household items, so please do check it out and help protect our hard-working waste crews."

Check out the recycling A-Z.

Disposing of a lithium e-scooter battery

If not recycled properly, e-scooter batteries can cause a serious fire risk.

Do not dispose of it in your household waste or normal recycling. These batteries can cause fires in bin lorries and at recycling and waste centres.

The manufacturer or importer of your e-scooter must offer a free take-back service for waste e-scooter battery packs. Contact them for details or ask the retailer where you bought the e-scooter.

If this isn't possible, Halfords can accept e-scooter batteries, so you can drop them off in-store.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept these types of batteries (lithium ion scooter or e-bike) at the Smugglers Way Household Waste and Recycling Centre on health and safety grounds.