Rutland County Council is asking residents not to dispose of their used household batteries in recycling or general waste bins, due to a risk of fire.
Batteries thrown away in the general rubbish or mixed with recyclable materials like card, metals and plastics, can be dangerous. When waste and recycling is emptied into the back of the collection vehicles, batteries can be squashed, compacted, punctured, shredded or soaked in liquids. When this happens batteries can get very hot or ignite, resulting in fires that put lives at risk and cause damage to equipment and vehicles, as well as disrupting the collection and processing of materials.
Rutland residents are being asked to dispose of all batteries using the battery collection points at Cottesmore and North Luffenham Recycling Centres.
Alternatively, you can drop old batteries off at shops and supermarkets which sell them.
“It’s important that our waste and recycling is disposed of safely. Batteries, when mixed in with other materials, are increasingly becoming a fire risk. We are therefore asking residents to use battery collection points at shops and recycling centres, instead of putting them in wheelie bins. This will help to keep our vehicles, staff and other residents safe.”
Marc Oxley, Cabinet Member for Environment at Rutland County Council
The Environmental Services Association gives further details about the dangers of batteries and lists all the places in Rutland where they can be recycled safely.
For more information about what and how to recycle, please visit our Bins, Waste and Recycling pages.