March 15, 2018 3.59 pm This story is over 72 months old

Discarded battery waste plant fires spark recycling warning

Batteries aren’t for recycling.

Discarded batteries in the recycling collection are believed to be the cause of two fires in 100-tonne piles of recycled waste in Boston in recent weeks.

As previously reported, fire crews rushed to Wyberton on February 22 to deal with a large blaze at the Lincolnshire County Council waste transfer site in Slippery Gowts Lane business park area.

One of the fires required attendance by the fire brigade and caused damage to the waste transfer station, with two burned out laptops, complete with batteries, discovered among the embers.

Discarded batteries buried deep within the massive heap of combustible material shorted and became the source of ignition.

35 tonnes of this 100 tonnes of this waste pile, where a recent fire started, shouldn’t be here according to the council. Photo: Boston Borough Council

A mobile phone battery is believed to have started another fire in recent weeks.

A spokesman for Boston Borough Council said: “We are now issuing advice to residents asking them not to recycle batteries or any electrical goods in their recycling collection or their general waste.”