'Kerbside collection of electrical items would slash risk of blazes'

KERBSIDE collections of lithium batteries and small electrical items would reduce fires in bin lorries, recycling centres and dumps, and save £6billion a year over a decade, research shows.

- By Tony Whitfield

With a rise in rechargeable electrical devices, people are disposing of them either in the recycling or waste bins.

But there has been a corresponding growth in the numbers of fires, costing waste collectors over £1billion a year, up from £150million in 2021.

There have been dozens of bin lorry blazes due to batteries being dumped.