Battery disposal call after recycling centre fire

A total of 169 firefighters attended the fire last month

Residents are being urged to dispose of electrical items and batteries responsibly following a fire at a recycling centre in Worksop.

The incident was ruled as accidental but the fire service said flammable items such as vapes, electrical items, or batteries were "likely to have been amongst the waste material causing the blaze".

Richard Hulland, from waste firm Veolia, said: "Making small changes to how we dispose of certain items will greatly decrease the chance of fires at sorting facilities and in collection vehicles."

More than 165 firefighters took two days to bring the blaze at the Veolia site off Claylands Avenue under control after being called just before 01:00 BST on 20 August.

Veolia and Nottinghamshire County Council have joined up with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service in order to urge people not to throw battery products in the general waste.

Used vapes can be taken to a local recycling centre or back to retailers. The council said they should "never be placed in household recycling or rubbish bins or in on-street litter bins".

Batteries in disposable vapes should be properly disposed of

Electrical items - items with batteries, plugs, cables, or hidden batteries such as those found in children's toys and electrical toothbrushes - can be recycled but they "must be handled safely" at one of the recycling centres or a dedicated recycling point.

Batteries can be easily recycled at a recycling centre or at dedicated recycling points.

Councillor Bert Bingham, cabinet Member for the environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: "This incident has caused significant damage and is a timely reminder to check how best to dispose of items such as batteries, vapes and electricals as not doing so not only puts people at risk but key infrastructure too."