As the Director of MRFs and PRFs at Biffa, I’ve spent years working in the waste sector, and I’ve never seen a challenge escalate as rapidly – or as dangerously – as the rise in battery-related fires.
Yesterday’s Fire and Health & Safety Conference in London was a vital opportunity for me and other waste leaders to spotlight this growing, business-critical threat and engage with the stakeholders who can help drive change.
Material Recovery Facilities play a crucial role in the waste chain, sorting recyclable materials from household and commercial waste. Biffa operates several MRFs across the UK, handling hundreds of thousands of tonnes annually. But increasingly, these facilities – and the people working in them – are facing a hidden threat: batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are by far the biggest hazard. Found in everything from vapes and toys to laptops and seasonal decorations for Diwali, Halloween and Christmas, they are regularly discarded where they don’t belong – residual waste and recycling bins.
Punctured or crushed during collection in trucks or processing at MRFs and transfer stations, they can trigger fires reaching 800°C through thermal runaway.
In 2023/24, the UK waste sector saw over 1,200 battery fires – a 71% increase year-on-year. Nearly half were caused by lithium-ion batteries, with vapes the biggest culprit.
At Biffa, we’ve seen this firsthand. A devastating fire at our Aldridge MRF in the New Year was a stark reminder of the stakes: the risk of harm, costly repairs and service disruptions – all avoidable with better prevention.
A further 31 fires broke out at our MRFs between June and September, including another one at Aldridge. Thankfully, everybody has, so far, gone home safe and well.
The ban on the sale of single use vapes from June 1 was meant to help keep batteries out of bins, but convenience culture persists – many smokers continue to discard rechargeable vapes just as quickly. They’re not expensive and, coupled with a limited availability of replacement parts, it’s often easier to just throw them away and buy a new one.
During April and May, four of our busiest MRFs handled a total of 401,000 incorrectly discarded vapes. During August and September, this rose to 447,000. Recent spot sampling over two shifts at Aldridge showed 78% of the vapes found were the rechargeable type.
We have already invested, and continue to invest, in cutting-edge solutions like Helios ATFS fire detection and suppression technology, alongside robust staff training and emergency protocols. But technology alone isn’t enough. We need systemic change.
Current safe disposal options for batteries, vapes and small WEEE – including in-store return points and household waste recycling centres – are underused, either through indifference, lack of awareness or the inconvenience of getting there.
Municipal kerbside collection for these hazardous items is patchy with only around a quarter of councils offering such a service.
The ESA’s proposal for universal kerbside battery collections, funded by producer responsibility reforms, could save £6 billion over a decade and cut fire incidents from 1,200 to just 100.
We support exploring such a move, alongside clearer safe disposal labelling, stronger education and campaigning to drive behaviour change, and upstream product design changes.
Ultimately, prevention is key. If everyone reading this shared the dangers of improper battery disposal with just a few friends or family members, we could reach thousands – and start making real change.
Let’s act now, before luck runs out.
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