Environment Services Association (ESA) Launches Campaign To Prevent Battery-Related Fires

The Environment Services Association (ESA) has launched it's latest ‘Take Charge’ recycling campaign to counter the rising number of fires caused by batteries that have not been disposed of correctly.

recycle batteries

First launched in 2020, the campaign aims to warn consumers of the dangers related to ‘zombie’ batteries, which can be a potential fire risk if they are thrown away alongside residual waste or via other recycling methods.

Instead, it urges consumers to recycle batteries and electronic devices containing batteries using only specialist recycling services.

current recycling rate

Nearly 50% of all recycling and waste fires in the UK were started by lithium-ion batteries

According to the ESA, current statistics suggest that only 40% of local authorities offer kerbside collections. Additionally, the current recycling rate for batteries is “around 45% of all batteries placed on the market”.

In particular, the ESA is warning consumers of the dangers around lithium-ion batteries, which commonly feature in household items such as laptops and phones.

In a 2021 report, the environmental consultancy, Eunomia, discovered that nearly 50% of all recycling and waste fires in the UK were started by lithium-ion batteries. The cost of these fires is thought to be more than £150 million each year.

Take Charge

Executive Director at the ESA, Jacob Hayler, said, “Since we first launched Take Charge in 2020, the number of battery fires at recycling and waste facilities, unfortunately, seems to have risen considerably and is affecting all operators in the sector, not helped by the tinder-dry conditions caused by the heatwave this summer."

Jacob Hayler adds, “These fires not only put lives at risk but also seriously threaten vital infrastructure upon which all of us across the UK rely every day. We urge everyone to please recycle batteries and electronic devices responsibly and help us stop waste batteries from becoming zombies.”

Raising awareness

We encourage people to Take Charge and correctly recycle batteries and electronic devices in recycling services"

Showing support for the campaign, Mark Andrews from the National Fire Chiefs Council, said “We encourage people to Take Charge and correctly recycle batteries and electronic devices in specialist recycling services. This could significantly reduce the increasing number of challenging fires that fire and rescue services have to deal with. These can often be large-scale incidents which disrupt local communities and pose a risk to life, but they can be prevented.”

Campaign sponsors, Ecosurety, a UK battery compliance scheme, have also expressed the importance of the campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of discarded batteries.

increasing recycling

Marketing and Sustainability Manager at Ecosurety, Stephanie Housty, said, “Following on our long-standing commitment to increasing recycling, it was important for Ecosurety to get behind this campaign and drive up the public awareness of the growing lithium batteries fires issue to nudge consumers to dispose of batteries and small electrical devices safely.”

This latest campaign from ESA follows a Halloween theme and will be running until 7 November 2022. It includes a short film in which ‘zombie’ batteries “wreak havoc” at a recycling and waste facility.