Recycling centre fire caused by “rechargeable vape battery”

Members of the public are being urged to dispose of vapes correctly after a fire at a local recycling centre.

The blaze, at Bryn Lane, is believed to have been caused by a battery from a large, rechargeable vape.

Anything with a plug, battery or cable which isn’t recycled correctly carries a risk to people and buildings, so make sure you never put these items in the bin.

Across the UK it is estimated that more than five million single-use vapes are thrown in the bin each week.

Vapes can be accepted as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and can be disposed of in the Small Domestic Appliances (SDA) container at all of the household recycling centres in Wrexham.

A number of shops and supermarkets that sell vapes will also let you return them and recycle them for you. Take a look at Recycle Your Electricals’ recycling locator and type in ‘vapes’ to see where you can dispose of them.

Cllr Terry Evans, Lead Member for Environment, said: “You should never put either single-use or rechargeable vapes in any waste bins or kerbside recycling containers, and if you do so you’ll be putting people at risk.

“It can cause fires to break out if they get crushed or damaged in bin lorries or at the recycling centres, creating potentially dangerous situations.”

Wrexham Council has also issued the following advice on how to correctly dispose of items such as batteries and gas canisters:

Batteries

You can recycle all types of batteries at the three recycling centres in Wrexham – even car batteries!

But if it’s just your everyday household batteries you’re looking to recycle you should have the option to recycle them at a local shop too.

Since February 2010, shops who sell more than 32kg of batteries a year (approx. 345 x four-packs of AA batteries) have to provide battery recycling facilities in-store – so all the larger supermarkets and retailers provide these.

Gas canisters

Gas canisters are potentially hazardous and should never be put in your rubbish bin. If you have one it’s best to check with the company you bought it from as they should be able to refill or dispose of it for you.

The smaller non-refillable gas bottle canisters (used for small cooking heaters) can be recycled with plastics and cans at kerbside ONLY IF they have no fluid or gas inside.

If they do have anything left in them you will need to take them to either Plas Madoc or Brymbo (The Lodge) recycling centre. You are unable to dispose of gas canisters at Bryn Lane recycling centre due to permit limitations.

Nitrous oxide canisters

If you have a nitrous oxide canister please take it to either Plas Madoc or Brymbo (The Lodge) recycling centre. You are unable to dispose of nitrous oxide canisters at Bryn Lane recycling centre due to permit limitations.

For further information about recycling in Wrexham, please visit wrexham.gov.uk/recycling