The cartridges were found by site staff inside a container for household battery recycling on 23 July 2025 during routine staff inspections.
The ammunition was subsequently handed in to Stonehaven Police Station for destruction.
Ewan Wallace, Environment and Sustainability Head of Service at Aberdeenshire Council, said: “It was lucky that the site team spotted these so that they could be removed and dealt with safely. This was a potentially dangerous situation.
“Batteries are a known fire risk in our recycling streams and to find live ammunition among them presents a real risk to staff, site visitors, and to those we’ve contracted to transport and recycle the batteries.”
According to Material Focus, there were over 1,200 reported battery fires in bin lorries and at waste sites in 2023 in the UK.
A survey of local authorities across the UK has also found that 94% have stated that fires caused by batteries in the waste stream were an “increasing challenge”.
Shotgun cartridges disposal
Aberdeenshire Council has stressed that live shotgun cartridges should only be disposed of by surrendering them to a local police station or to a registered firearms dealer.
Small domestic quantities (up to 50) of spent cartridges can be placed in normal household waste.
However, for commercial quantities, it is illegal to dispose of them through burial or burning, and businesses are required to use a registered waste carrier.
Wallace added: “We are urging residents to, please, never take live ammunition to a household recycling centre and never place them in household bins.”
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