Hazardous waste fire-risk warning after skip blaze

Islanders have been reminded of the dangers of disposing of hazardous items such as flares, gas canisters or lithium batteries.

The States of Guernsey said this came after a fire in one of the skips at the Household Waste & Recycling Centre on Saturday afternoon.

The facility was evacuated of people and remained closed for the rest of the day while the fire was put out and the site was cleaned up.

It said although the item that caused the fire could not be identified, it was thought to have been caused by a flare or different flammable item.

The operations manager at Guernsey Waste says the fire could have been avoided

Sarah Robinson, Guernsey Waste's operations manager, said no-one was injured due to the quick reaction of the team on site.

She added the fire could have been easily avoided and whoever dropped off the item was lucky it did not ignite in their vehicle.

Guernsey Waste said its Check B4 U Chuck campaign highlighted a range of hazardous items that islanders needed to take care of when disposing of them.

Besides flares, batteries and gas canisters, it included vapes and general electrical items, many of which contain batteries.

"These should never be put with general waste or in recycling, and this weekend's incident is a perfect illustration of why not," Ms Robinson said.

'Check before you chuck'

The campaign slogan is: "Check before you chuck, don't leave it to luck."

Ms Robinson said: "Since we launched the Check B4 U Chuck campaign we have seen the safe return of hundreds of out-of-date flares, which is brilliant."

She added however there were still a number of fire incidents in the machinery at the waste transfer station which were caused by either a discarded flare, a lithium battery, or a different item.

"Our aim is to eliminate the disposal of these items in the wrong way, which is in general waste or recycling streams altogether," she said.

States of Guernsey said many hazardous items could be taken to the Household Waste & Recycling Centre, where they can be left with staff for safe disposal free of charge.

Non-lithium batteries could also be recycled free of charge at Waitrose, Co-op Grand Marche St Martin's Store, Aladdin's Cave, and at all schools.