Did you know, a single battery placed in your bin can cause a waste collection vehicle to catch fire? This endangers our waste crews and local communities.
Loose batteries and items containing batteries have the power to spark lethal fires if they are crushed or damaged in bin lorries and at sorting facilities. Battery-related fires are one of the fastest growing fire risks in Surrey, with Surrey Fire and Rescue Service responding to an increasing number of incidents caused by batteries. Lithium-ion batteries, in particular, pose a significant risk and are often mistaken for standard household batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are more dangerous than conventional household batteries because they release highly flammable gases as they burn. These fires spread quickly, produce toxic fumes and can relight repeatedly making them difficult to extinguish.
Batteries and items containing batteries should never be placed in your bin. Here’s a guide on how to dispose of them safely where you live:
Batteries
All residents of Surrey can take batteries to their local community recycling centre and most shops that sell batteries, including supermarkets, take them back for recycling. Any shop that sells 32kg of batteries or more per year is required by law to have a deposit point.
All residents of Surrey except those in Epsom and Ewell and Reigate and Banstead can place batteries in a tied bag, such as a clear, plastic sandwich bag and put them out for recycling on top of their bin on collection day.
You can find a full guide to recycling your household batteries in the what to do with an item section of our website.
Items containing batteries
It’s also just as easy to recycle items containing hidden batteries! Many cordless, wireless and Bluetooth electricals contain lithium-ion batteries.
Examples of these items include:
- vapes
- mobile phones
- headphones
- power tools
- electric toothbrush
- toys
- vacuum cleaners
Where possible, remove the batteries from the product first and recycle them separately. Wherever you live in Surrey, electricals can be taken your local community recycling centre or an electrical retailer that offers a recycling service. Some councils offer a small electricals kerbside collection, check the search tool to see if you have this service where you live.
Stop the spark today by recycling your batteries responsibly.