Warning over batteries from a Cambridgeshire fire chief

A top fire office has renewed warnings to residents to dispose of lithium batteries carefully following a number of fires in bin lorries across the county.

Group Commander Rob Olivier, head of community fire safety at Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service, said: "Batteries can be a fire hazard, especially when they are compacted and damaged when mixed in with any household or recyclable waste.

“A damaged battery can lead to ignition of the highly reactive lithium, leading to a fire starting. We would urge residents to make sure they dispose of batteries correctly at an appropriate recycling facility.

"To safely dispose of them, batteries should be taken to local recycling centres, or, for household batteries, many shops have collection bins in-store. You can check either https://www.recyclenow.com/ or https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/ to check where your closest location is."

On May 11 this year, a bin lorry caught fire in Elliott Road in March, it disrupted bin collections from around 6,000 properties as the waste transfer station in March, where the waste was extinguished, had to close for the rest of the day.

Lithium-ion batteries are in a lot of everyday items like mobile phones, toothbrushes, toys, laptops, e-bikes, and e-scooters and their use has increased as e-cigarettes and vapes have become more popular.

Nationally, battery fires in bin lorries and waste sites are an increasing problem, with research published by Material Focus earlier this summer revealing there had been over 1,200 such fires across the UK in the last year – an increase of 71% from 700 in 2022.

Below are some top tips to help with disposing batteries safely:

• Never put any kind of battery in with your household rubbish or recycling.
• Any kind of battery can cause a fire if not disposed of correctly and safely. This includes vapes or other e-cigarettes as well as standard batteries.
• Fires involving batteries cause damage to refuse vehicles and roads, as well as significant delays to bin collections and road closures.