Stamp Out Recycling Fire Starters

Residents are being urged to help end a surge in dangerous fires caused by poorly sorted recycling and rubbish. Fire services have joined Somerset Council and its collections contractor SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK in asking for people to take more care, or risk sparking dangerous and potentially deadly blazes.

In the last two years more than ten depot and truck fires are thought to have been caused by people putting batteries, gas canisters or still-warm disposable barbecues in their waste. And the risk is on the rise, with three fires sparked in Somerset recycling depots in the last month.

In the last two weeks of May alone, vigilant crews have pulled more than 200 potentially explosive camping gas canisters out of household recycling. But some inevitably sneak through to the sorting process. Batteries and gas canisters can ignite when crushed in the back of recycling trucks, or as part of the sorting process in the Material Recovery Facilities. Disposable barbecues put into refuse bins without being fully soaked and extinguished can retain heat, smoulder and cause fires in trucks and when tipped out back at the depot.

What should you do?

• Small household batteries can be recycled in weekly kerbside collections but must be put in a clear, tied plastic bag put on the top of the recycling box. They must not be left loose in recycling boxes, put in the Bright Blue Bag or in the rubbish bin.
• Large batteries, such as car batteries, cannot be recycled at the kerbside and should be taken to your local recycling site.
• Small household batteries and electricals can also be taken to recycling sites. Always check with the staff on site for the correct area to put these.
• Small gas canisters – like those used in camping stoves – are not recyclable in kerbside collections and must not be put in the rubbish bin. They must be taken to your local household recycling site. Always check with the staff on site for the correct area to put these.
• Disposable barbecues should be fully immersed in water and left to cool completely before putting into your refuse bin.