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> College students in Nottinghamshire have been educated on the dangers of incorrectly disposing of vapes, batteries and electrical items at a safety event run by Nottinghamshire County Council’s waste and recycling partner Veolia, and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.
> This comes as Veolia records one preventable fire a day across its UK operations from dangerous items being placed in household bins.
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Residents in Nottinghamshire are being urged not to dispose of batteries, vapes and electrical items in household bins or on-street litter bins. Batteries, vapes and electrical items should always be taken to designated recycling points, which can be found at most major supermarkets and at any of the region’s 12 Recycling Centres Veolia operates on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council. Residents can also easily dispose of vapes by taking them back to the retailer they were purchased from.
Representatives from the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service recently attended Veolia’s Materials Recovery Facility in Mansfield to deliver a session to college students on the dangers of incorrectly disposing of lithium-ion batteries. These batteries can be hidden in items such as watches and electric toothbrushes. One of the items most commonly causing issues are vapes, with over 6 million vapes and pods thrown away every week. For the first time, there are more over-16s using vapes or e-cigarettes than smoking cigarettes, according to the Office for National Statistics, and despite the ban on businesses selling or supplying single-use vapes in the UK, vapes are still being disposed of incorrectly in large numbers, leading to waste-related fires.
Vapes, or any item with a battery, plug or cable, can be recycled, but they must be handled safely. If they are crushed or damaged, hidden lithium-ion batteries can become extremely flammable and cause fires or explosions that put people in danger.
Fires from batteries, vapes and electrical items can also occur in bin lorries, putting drivers, operatives and members of the public in danger. A recent bin lorry fire, caused by a ruptured battery cell from a solar-powered battery bank, required assistance from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to extinguish.
Natasha Neale, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Incidents like this are becoming far more frequent – but many of them are preventable. Batteries, especially lithium-ion ones, can cause serious fires when damaged or crushed. We’re urging residents to dispose of batteries correctly to help reduce these incidents. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service is working closely with councils across the county and waste collection companies to spread this message and keep crews and communities safe. Batteries should never go in your household bins. If you’re unsure how to dispose of them, please check your local council’s website for guidance.”
Steve Newman, Nottinghamshire General Manager at Veolia, said: “In Nottinghamshire, we pride ourselves on carrying out essential services whilst putting safety first in the workplace, and we do not accept our people or the communities we serve being put in danger. We ask everyone to think twice about how they dispose of dangerous items to reduce the chance of fires in Recycling Centres, local sorting facilities and trucks. This will help ensure the people who handle waste are kept safe whilst protecting the valuable materials residents work hard to separate for recycling.”
Councillor Bert Bingham, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “Vapes, batteries and electrical items can become extremely dangerous if they are crushed or damaged so we are urging residents to do the right thing by taking them to a designated recycling point to help keep people safe and prevent fires which could have lethal consequences.”
For more information about the correct disposal of batteries, vapes and electrical items, residents can visit nottinghamshire.veolia.co.uk/dangerouswaste
Schools, colleges and adult groups in Nottinghamshire can also attend Veolia’s free recycling workshop which aims to educate the people of Nottinghamshire on how to correctly recycle their waste, including batteries, vapes and electrical items. For more information, please email [email protected]