Mid Ulster council campaign to highlight why everyone needs to dispose of batteries properly
Householders in the Mid Ulster area are to be reminded of the very real dangers of not disposing of batteries properly.
Council Deputy Chair, Councillor Denise Johnston has called on council officers to put up signage in recycling centres to urge the public to remove batteries from electrical appliances, as these constitute a major fire hazard.
Cllr Johnston also asked for a report to be brought back to committee, to outline what is standard practice in neighbouring jurisdictions to ensure that used batteries are transported and disposed of safely.
Speaking at the latest Environment committee meeting of Mid Ulster District Council, Cllr Johnston commented: “Council [needs to] to raise awareness of the responsibility of the public to remove batteries from small domestic appliances.
“Recently, I was down visiting the Enva [recycling] plant at Toome. There’s been four fires in the last year.
“And one of the things that they were saying to us was [in relation to] stuff that was coming through from the small domestic appliances.
“There were still items that had batteries in them. The public are supposed to take those batteries out, but generally speaking, people are not aware of that.
“I’m not sure if there is signage beside where the small domestic appliances go. I’m wondering if it’s possible that we could actually get signage there if there isn’t some already.
“But more than that, if we could use our social media platforms to educate the public. It’s amazing the sort of things that have batteries in that we’re not aware of.
“In relation to the transport of that particular waste, the small domestic appliances, from the recycling centre to the recycling plant, apparently there’s no government guidelines around this, but we are the only region on these islands that is actually using bin lorries to remove that waste.
“And the crushing of that waste with batteries still intact in some of these items is very dangerous.
“So, I think we should be looking to what Scotland, the Republic of Ireland, England and Wales are doing.”
Committee chair, Councillor Christine McFlynn (SDLP) seconded Cllr Johnston’s dual proposal for signage to educate the public regarding the need to remove batteries from electrical appliances, and for battery waste to be transported and disposed of in keeping with standard practice in neighbouring jurisdictions.
Head of Environmental Services, Mark McAdoo, replied: “We can certainly look at signage in relation to the small domestic appliances.
“The council is working a lot as part of a national campaign raising awareness on the removal of lithium batteries, not just from electrical appliances but also from household waste as well.
“And just to clarify on the second point, the bin lorries referred to are not council bin lorries. Those are contractor bin lorries that remove that material.
“So, we can certainly raise that, but I would imagine at the moment if that’s being permitted, it’s not being raised by the NI Environment Agency, the regulator, but we can raise that issue with them.”
Councillor Brian McGuigan (Sinn Féin) pointed out that operational matters, when it comes to private contractors, are outside of the council’s remit: “if it’s something to do with putting a message out there, then that’s fair enough, but I don’t think we should be getting involved in whatever is happening within that company that is allowing fires to take place.”
Cllr Johnston explained that she just wanted to make sure that best practice is adhered to at the council’s end.
“We want to try and reduce the risks when it’s being transported from here to there, in terms of the crushing of the batteries that can actually trigger a fire.
“Obviously, it’s a private company and what happens after that then becomes their responsibility, but we’re just looking at it from our end.”
Councillor Clement Cuthbertson (DUP) raised the issue of batteries being disposed of in black bins, and the senior council officer pointed out that raising awareness of the proper disposal of batteries was key.
Mr McAdoo commented: “That’s the reason we’re going to be taking part in this national campaign to raise awareness about the disposal of lithium batteries in particular, because those are the ones with the higher risk from fire.
“So, we’re going to be encouraging people not to put them in their bins at the kerbside, because of the potential risk of causing fires in bin lorries, and to bring them to either a recycling centre, or to stores that have battery drop-off points.
“These batteries are so small that you’re never going to detect them and remove them once they’re in there.
“So, it is about raising awareness and encouraging people not to put them in there in the first place.”
Cllr McGuigan asked for a detailed report to be brought to the next committee meeting, outlining safety protocols currently in place in other jurisdictions, when it comes to the disposal of batteries.
Cllr Johnston replied: “I’m happy enough with that. That’s fine. In terms of the second proposal, that we look to other examples in other areas, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, obviously a report is essential.
Councillor John McNamee (SF) felt that there was also a need to educate the public about e-scooters and other battery-powered vehicles.
“Shopmobility had to move out of the Burnavon because of health and safety, and insurance purposes.
“In a couple of places in England and Scotland, these scooters went on fire at night, and for that reason Shopmobility had to move out in case we lost the Burnavon on some particular night.
“So, a big education message [is needed] there, and I think a report coming back on what we could do to help people be safer in their homes would be great.”
It was also agreed that signage would be provided in recycling centres, to urge members of the public to remove batteries from electrical appliances, when disposing of such items.