Veolia and Nottinghamshire County Council are teaming up with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to raise awareness of the dangers of incorrectly disposing of items like vapes, electrical items and batteries. Across the county, Veolia manages 12 Household Recycling Centres and treats recycling and waste, including at Mansfield Materials Recovery Facility.

The possible impact of incorrectly disposing of dangerous items was illustrated by a recent fire at Worksop Transfer Station, with  five fire engines required to put out the fire. Although the cause of waste fires is not always determinable, flammable items such as vapes, electrical items, or batteries were likely to have been amongst the waste material causing the blaze. Thankfully, there were no injuries to Veolia’s staff or members of the public, but this incident could have been avoided if items were disposed of properly.

Residents are urged to follow the advice below when disposing of dangerous items:

●      Used vapes can be taken to a local recycling centre or back to retailers. They should never be placed in household recycling or rubbish bins or in on-street litter bins. Nottinghamshire residents can find their local recycling centre at nottinghamshire.veolia.co.uk/recyclinginformation

●      Electrical items - items with batteries, plugs, cables, or hidden batteries such as those found in children’s toys and electrical toothbrushes - can be recycled but they must be handled safely at one of our recycling centres or a dedicated recycling point. If residents are unsure they are urged to check the Recycling Checker nottinghamshire.gov.uk/recyclingchecker

●      Batteries can be easily recycled at a recycling centre or at dedicated recycling points, which can be found at nottinghamshire.gov.uk/recyclingchecker. Batteries become extremely flammable when they are crushed which puts both collection crews and the staff at recycling and waste sorting and processing facilities at risk of burns, chemical exposure and smoke inhalation - injuries that can be life-changing. It also causes damage to vital recycling infrastructure.

Residents can visit veolia.co.uk/dangerous-waste to watch real footage of what happens when dangerous items enter the waste stream and learn more about how to safely dispose of these materials.

Richard Hulland, Chief Risk and Assurance Officer, Northern Europe Zone, said:  “At Veolia 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. By partnering with Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service we hope to help the county’s residents  to ensure their waste does not catch fire once it’s collected.

“Making small changes to how we dispose of certain items will greatly decrease the chance of fires at sorting facilities and in collection vehicles. This will have a huge impact on keeping the vital industry we work in safe and ensure that the people that handle waste are kept out of harm’s way 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: “The fire at Worksop Transfer Station brings home the reality that putting items such as batteries and electricals into waste bins can cause fires.

“This incident has caused significant damage and is a timely reminder to check how best to dispose of items such as batteries, vapes and electricals as not doing so not only puts people at risk but key infrastructure too.

“We are proud to be working alongside Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to raise awareness of the dangers of putting these items in the bin and we encourage residents to make use of our free recycling checker on our website before disposing of these sorts of items.”

Natasha Neale, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Community Engagement and Partnerships Manager said:  “Unfortunately fires in waste collection vehicles are becoming an increasingly serious risk, and our operational staff are attending more of these incidents, which are often caused by lithium-ion batteries and disposable vapes that have not been thrown away correctly.

“Some of the incidents we have attended have left vehicles and roads badly damaged, with lorries forced to empty burning waste onto the street so we can extinguish the fire – something that is disruptive, costly, and causes environmental harm in our communities.

“By working with Veolia and Nottinghamshire County Council on this dangerous waste campaign, we want to highlight the dangers and urge everyone to dispose of these items following our joint advice. Taking this small step helps prevent fires, protects our crews, and keeps our communities safe.”