Call to dispose of batteries safely

Friday, 16 December 2022

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Residents are being urged not to put batteries in their waste or recycling bins this Christmas to help protect collection crews.

Research shows across the UK 189 million batteries will be used to power various devices over the festive period. But worryingly about a quarter of UK households admit to throwing batteries in either their waste or recycling bin.

Batteries should never go in your waste or recycling. If they end up in the back of a collection vehicle they can leak harmful fluid when crushed or spark which can cause a fire, posing a risk to collection crews.

A fire in a bin lorry collecting in Larkspur Drive in Evesham earlier this year is believed to have been caused by batteries mixed in with rubbish, causing the crew to tip the load into the street while firefighters tackled the flames.

Batteries also pose a risk to staff working at the recycling plant at Norton and the Energy from Waste Plant in Hartlebury.

There are several ways to dispose of batteries correctly:

Household batteries, including button batteries from watches, can be taken to battery recycling points in supermarkets and other shops where large quantities of batteries are sold.
Household batteries can be placed in a bag on top of your black bin and these will be put in a cage underneath the collection vehicle by crews and taken for recycling.
Household batteries, mobile phone batteries, car batteries, and other types of batteries can be taken to Household Recycling Centres.
If a battery cannot be removed, then the whole item should be recycled at a Household Recycling Centre or if it is a small electrical item, put it on top of your black bin and our crews will take it for recycling.

Cllr Emma Stokes, Executive Board Member for Resident and Customer Services on Wychavon District Council, said: "The incident in Evesham earlier this year showed there is a very real risk to our crews from batteries being put into waste and recycling bins. Please do your bit to protect our crews and the environment by disposing of your batteries correctly. If possible, choose rechargeable batteries as a more sustainable option."