The company, part of the Zurich Insurance Group, also said that freedom of information data it has obtained has found that the number of bin lorries hit by blazes has leapt 62% in the last two years.
The survey of 1,000 parents with children under 11 was carried out in November.
Zurich explained that nine in ten (95%) are planning to declutter unwanted children’s toys to make room for new ones this Christmas. However, around one in five (21%) will throw these toys away in the household waste bin, ditching seven toys each on average.
The company added that fewer than four out of ten (38%) said they will check them for lithium batteries before throwing them in the household waste, raising the risk of bin fires.
The survey comes as local authorities have been reporting soaring costs for insuring waste facilities in recent months, with West London recording a ‘518%’ rise in insurance costs since 2016 (see letsrecycle.com story) and Dumfries & Galloway council noting a 90% rise in insurance for its MBT plant (see letsrecycle.com story).
Checks
Alix Bedford, a risk expert at Zurich Municipal, said: “Decluttering before Christmas can feel cathartic and help make room for new toys before Father Christmas visits.
“But over recent years we’ve seen an increase in fires caused by batteries in bins, whether this is batteries sparking fires in bin lorries or at waste centre sites. It can be easy to forget that some toys contain batteries especially if they are old and are no longer working.
“If you want to be on the ‘nice’ list this year, remember to check old toys for batteries and dispose of them correctly – perhaps in the designated battery bins in supermarkets when doing your Christmas food shop.”
Toys
The findings from the insurance company show that approximately nine million toys are set to be discarded in British households before Christmas. The survey also showed that around 21% intend to dispose of toys in household bins, averaging seven toys per household. The data also showed that less than 40% of respondents mentioned they would check for lithium batteries before disposing of the toys.
Stephen Curtler, product safety manager at Electrical Safety First, warned of the dangers of throwing batteries in the bins.
He said: “Never throw away batteries along with your everyday household rubbish or recycling. Standard AA or button batteries risk highly hazardous materials entering the ecosystem, killing wildlife or poisoning water supplies. You can recycle these batteries at most supermarkets.
“Likewise, lithium-ion batteries can cause explosive fires if they get damaged. This means putting items that contain these batteries in your regular waste or recycling bins could endanger people’s lives – even if their power’s been fully used up. Always take them to household waste recycling centres, e-waste collection points or battery recycling drop-off locations.”
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