Battery fire in a garbage truck.
This week marks the launch of a major new phase of the successful ‘Never Bin A Battery’ campaign rolling out across New South Wales.
Fires caused by the incorrect disposal of household batteries and products with embedded batteries are a growing hazard. In NSW, Fire and Rescue have responded to more than 280 incidents caused by lithiumion batteries this year alone.
Meanwhile, the waste industry reports an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 battery-related fires a year nationwide, posing a significant risk to human health, the environment and to critical infrastructure that we rely on to process waste.
NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Executive Director of Programs and Innovation Alexandra Geddes said, “Everyone has a role to play in the safe use and disposal of batteries, which should never be disposed of in kerbside bins.”
The campaign reminds people to:
• Tape the ends of small loose batteries with clear, sticky tape
• Keep them safe in a ventilated, glass container
• Drop them off at nearby B-cycle collection points, like supermarkets and hardware stores
• Dispose of large batteries (5-20 kg) for free at Community Recycling Centres
• Drop off items with embedded batteries for free to one of 34 CRCs participating in the embedded batteries recycling trial