Household battery collections start in South Kesteven

It is to encourage recycling of household batteries, which must be left in a small bag, such as a new freezer bag or clean nappy sack, tied to the lid of the black, silver or purple-lid wheelie bin on collection day each week.

The cross-party initiative by South Kesteven District Council shows a collective commitment across the political parties to drive progress on recycling and work to meet Climate Change goals.

It will also reduce the risk of fires in bin lorries and keep crews safe while supporting SKDC’s climate action goals.

Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste, Cllr Rhys Baker, said: “This service is available every week to all residential addresses with a wheelie bin, with the battery bags emptied into a separate container attached to each bin lorry. There’s no extra cost to householders for this.

“The fire safety issues we have experienced is a real danger to crews: when batteries are thrown away in the bin with your other household waste and recycling, they are likely to be crushed or punctured in the bin lorry or at the processing centre.

“Some batteries, particularly rechargeables, can ignite or even explode if they are damaged. If this happens, they can quickly set fire to other material in the waste, such as paper, which may lead to serious incidents that put lives at risk.

“From Monday 16^th September, SKDC crews will accept all everyday household batteries, button batteries from watches and alarms, as well as batteries from e-cigarettes – but please no vapes, disposable or otherwise.

“If you live in a flat using communal bins, or a house on our pink/clear bag collections, please continue to take batteries and vapes to supermarkets, shops or the Household Recycling Centre.”

This additional service complements SKDC’s fortnightly general waste collections, which go for disposal at the Energy from Waste plant, to be turned into electricity, as well as the alternate two-weekly clean/dry recyclables (silver bin) and the paper and card (purple lid) collections. Households can also enrol on the green bin garden waste scheme, although there is an additional cost to this.

SKDC’s recycling commitments are helping the council move towards its net-zero targets following declaration of a climate emergency in September 2019.

The Climate Action Strategy, as well as outlining the council’s vision, aims and ambition to mitigate and adapt to climate change, also identifies waste as a resource – and pledges to generate less waste overall across the district.

All electrical items and batteries can continue to be disposed of at Household Waste Recycling Centres or in dedicated battery bins at retailers. If the batteries cannot be removed, for instance from toothbrushes, shavers, chargers and toys, these electricals should also be recycled separately.

Batteries that must be taken to the Household Recycling Centre

• Car batteries
• Laptop battery packs
• Mobile phone batteries
• Power tool batteries
• Lighters
• Remote control units
• Disposable/non disposable vapes

SKDC is working to find a solution to offer the service to all residents in a safe way. Until then, residents can still recycle used batteries by taking them to any shop that sells them or to their local Household Recycling Centre.

Details of Lincolnshire County Council's Household Waste Recycling Centres can be found online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/recycling-waste/find-recycling-centre

There is a handy link to find your nearest supermarket/hardware store disposal point: https://bit.ly/batterySKDC

Check you're putting the right thing in the right bin at home by visiting www.southkesteven.gov.uk/whichbin