Stop throwing your vapes in the bin – battery fires at recycling centre cause two hour shutdown for each incident

There has been a increase in the number of fires at Wrexham’s recycling centre, usually due to vapes, and other items with lithium based batteries.

The fires cause a two-hour safety shutdown, impacting the operation and indirectly council taxpayers, as well as increasing insurance costs. The recycling center has invested in thermal imaging and fire suppression systems to mitigate the risks, but the small size of vapes and batteries makes complete detection challenging.

The public is again being urged to dispose of vapes responsibly, either returning them to sellers or bringing them to recycling centers. The council say they are working with partners to address this national issue locally

With the issue causing more and more issues Wrexham.com was invited to the Bryn Lane recycling facility, which is the trio of large units connected to the public recycling centre readers will be familiar with.

The centre is run by FCC Environment who hold a long term waste management contract with Wrexham Council.

Residents are now being advised to dispose of vapes and batteries safely by taking them to one of Wrexham’s three household recycling centres or a nearby supermarket.

Gareth Jones, head of service strategy within the council’s environment department, said the fires were also risking the safety of staff at the recycling centre.

He said: “Over the last few weeks, we’ve had an increase in the number of fires within the recycling processing plant.

“That’s primarily been caused by vapes and other batteries so we’re asking the public to make sure they dispose of vapes sensibly.

“I don’t think people are aware of the dangers to staff and the building itself.

“There’s also the financial impact as it causes a two-hour shutdown of the system after every fire.

“Insurance also goes up so there’s a cost from these incidents to the taxpayers of Wrexham.”

Research by recycling campaign group, Material Focus, shows around five million disposable vapes are thrown away each week in the UK.

Proposals have been outlined to ban single-use vapes in Wales from April next year.

The Welsh Government said this would help to reduce the environmental impact of disposing of them.

Mr Jones said the council was exploring a number of avenues to allow vapes and batteries to be thrown away safely such as dedicated kerbside collections.

He said: “We want to make sure as much waste is recycled as possible and that means separating batteries and vapes from general waste.

“Most supermarkets will have an option for you to drop them off. Failing that, they can bring them to household recycling centres to dispose of.

“We are considering alternative options we can offer within the council because of the seriousness of the situation and the frequency of these fires.”