Kirklees urged to increase vigilance following HWRC fire

With the government set to ban single-use bins by April 2025, research by Keep Britain Tidy estimates single-use litter has doubled in the past two years. It is said that 260 million single-use vapes are thrown away in the UK every year.

The Recycle Your Electricals campaign said Britons throw away almost eight single-use vapes every second. And in a recent study by the Truth Initiative, more than 50 percent of people reported that they “don’t know how” to properly dispose of these devices.

The impact of throwing single-use vapes in the trash or recycling also poses a “significant threat” to workers at waste and recycling facilities, Suez said.

According to estimates from the Suez Materials Recovery Unit in Huddersfield, 1,000 vapes are seized every day, but many more are missed.

“Costly Damage”

Nick Browning, managing director at Suez, said: “It is so important that residents dispose of their vapes safely and keep them out of the bins at home. When vaporizers are crushed by a compactor in a collection vehicle or damaged while being moved to one of our waste facilities, even dead batteries can retain enough energy to start a fire, as seen at Weaving Lane last week, potentially life-threatening. . While we do our best to catch and separate them, we can’t find them all.”

David Shepherd, strategic director for growth and regeneration at Kirklees Council, said: “Thanks to the quick actions of staff and the fire service, last week’s fire at Weaving Lane Household Waste and Recycling Center was caught early and the damage at the scene were contained. However, there were more than 1,200 fires in rubbish lorries and waste sites in the UK last year, and with dry waste acting as fuel for any battery fire that breaks out, it can quickly cause large amounts of damage. This puts our waste handlers at risk and could cause incredibly expensive damage.

It is important that all items containing batteries are disposed of safely using the HWRC’s vapa and electrical skips, independent recycling points throughout the district or using our bulky waste collection service. Any items that are still usable can be donated to our re-use shop or taken to the donation points at Emerald Street and Weaving Lane HWRC.”

To find out more about the changes in the sector, visit the National Civic Amenity Site/HWRC Conference 2024 on 27 June at the Greater Manchester Renew Hub in Manchester. To book tickets to attend or for more information, please click here.