Don't Put Batteries in The Bin

[ebikeerwidnes]

They certainly do not go in the same bin here

The recycling bins come round on one week then the "general" binds the next week

As far as batteries go - I have a bag that I put them in and take it to ASDA when it is full - probably should do it soon actually as I haven't for a while

People need to think that if a fire happens then the counsel incur costs - i.e. it comes out of the counsel tax
but people don;t think

 

[Electric_Andy]

I have a drill battery (6mAh) that hasn't worked for a year but I've still kept. Can I chuck that in the battery bin at the supermarket, or should I try to dismantle it and just throw the actual batteries in?

 

[Alex321]

They certainly do not go in the same bin here

The recycling bins come round on one week then the "general" binds the next week

As far as batteries go - I have a bag that I put them in and take it to ASDA when it is full - probably should do it soon actually as I haven't for a while

People need to think that if a fire happens then the counsel incur costs - i.e. it comes out of the counsel tax
but people don;t think

Yes, it will cost the Council (sic), but they should have insurance.

And battery fires are in fact incredibly rare, paticularly in small household batteries.

I know you shouldn't put them in general waste, but I always thoughht that was because of the toxic chemicals in them, rather than any fire risk.

 

[presta]

And battery fires are in fact incredibly rare, paticularly in small household batteries.

They might be rare from the point of view of any one individual battery, but when you have thousands of them all concentrated in waste disposal sites, you end up with a fire every day. Insurance companies are the experts on risk, and if they're starting to refuse cover it'll be because they've noticed a change. My guess is that if it were only a small change they'd just put up the premium, so if they're refusing cover, presumably that's because the risk's making the premiums unaffordable.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Apparently, over 6,000,000 vapes are discarded every week(!) in the UK.

In 2025, one of the waste disposal companies, Suez, suffered 670 fires across their sites. Of those, 368 were confirmed to be caused by batteries or vapes, with a further 176 suspected to be linked.

Eleven weeks ago, one or more batteries ignited in a vape shop in Glasgow. The resulting fire caused the destruction of an historic Victorian building attached to Glasgow's Central Station and gutted dozens of adjacent businesses.

Local and national rail travel was severely disrupted for about a week and the streets around the site remain closed today.

Insurers estimate the payouts will be in the hundreds of millions of pounds.

I'm not convinced by the claim of incredible rarity but, even if accurate, such fires are highly damaging and challenging for the recycling companies and the fire services.