Residents urged to dispose of lithium batteries properly
Since the start of 2023 Surrey Fire and Rescue Service have attended over 30 fires caused by lithium batteries
Residents across Surrey are being urged to dispose of lithium batteries properly, rather than simply putting them in general waste.
Since the start of 2023 Surrey Fire and Rescue Service have attended over 30 fires caused by lithium batteries.
Lithium batteries are becoming far more common as they power things such as laptops and phones, to e-scooters and e-bikes, to vapes and e-cigarettes.
Head of Operations at Runnymede Council Marc Scott, says these batteries and the fires they cause are currently more common than ever
"They're becoming more and more prevalent than say your typical alkaline battery and because of the nature of the sort of gases and the chemicals contained in them they can be quite volatile when it involves heat and things like that and that's why we've seen so many fires of late."
Marc added why it's so important not to put lithium batteries in the general waste
"General waste containers for example. They go to energy for waste facilities now and energy for waste facility is basically incineration. So the last thing you want to do is introduce something that's very flammable."
Furthermore items that go through general waste are put through compaction, another thing which is very likely to cause ignition according to Marc
"When we put them under compaction, that's when they can ignite. you basically sparks and ignite sort of thing with under compaction.
There was a stat that I saw. We've seen a 70 % increase in waste fires since 2023."
These waste fires are not limited to waste centres themselves, compaction tends to take place within recycling lorries. The council warn that a fire in a bin or recycling lorry is extremely difficult to extinguish and can cause significant damage.
Marc adds that the council provides separate collections, as well as that, he adds that supermarkets often have battery specific bins