Hunters Lane HWRC and transfer station in Rugby was closed for 45 minutes last Thursday morning (March 3) after a pressurised cylinder exploded while being compacted in the scrap metal skip.
The skip was well alight after the explosion and firefighters attended to extinguish the blaze and the centre re-opened once declared safe.
Cllr Alan Cockburn, Warwickshire county councils portfolio holder for environment and economy, said: This was a very serious incident at our Rugby recycling centre and we must warn people not to place gas containers into any of our skips.
Responsibility rests with the disposer to ensure full safe and legal handling of any pressurised container.
Gas cylinders should go back to their suppliers wherever possible because they are hazardous items and can present a danger to members of the public using our sites.
Concealed
The county council suspects that this item was concealed when it was disposed of in the skip – potentially a very dangerous action.
It is now urging the public to make staff aware if they have brought any such pressurised item to our sites to throw away.
Some LPG cylinders can be accepted by some camping equipment shops and main cylinder suppliers.
They can be accepted at Prince’s Drive HWRC in Leamington at a minimum cost of 5 per item and Hunters Lane HWRC will take named cylinders for a charge of 6 per item -subject to size and type.
LPG (propane or butane) is a colourless liquid which readily evaporates into a gas. It has no smell, although it will normally have an odour added to help detect leaks. When mixed with air, the gas can burn or explode when it meets a source of ignition.
According to guidance on orphaned compressed gas cylinders in the waste and recycling industry produced by the Health and Safety Executive, cylinders containing compressed gases commonly appear in the waste stream, especially at civic amenity sites and metal recyclers.
Currently, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (LPGA) – comprising all the major manufacturers and fillers of LPG in the UK – coordinates a LPG cylinder retrieval scheme, promoted by the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) and others.
The HSE advises that as few cylinders as possible should be kept on site and these should be collected as soon as possible. They should be kept away from buildings, vehicles, sources of ignition and combustible materials. It says they should never be subject to impact.
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