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Reading: Battery fire causes £20k damage to recycling centre

The fire developed within minutes at the recycling site

A battery fire at a recycling centre caused damage estimated at £20,000, a council has said.

Flames erupted from a mound of waste and filled a warehouse with smoke, CCTV footage from the Smallmead site in Reading showed.

The blaze on 9 October was the ninth there so far this year, Reading Borough Council reported.

It has urged people to avoid throwing electrical items such as toothbrushes and vapes into bins.

Battery found in waste at Smallmead recycling centre
Workers at the site often find batteries which have been thrown into bins

The Smallmead site was closed for a day and waste lorries from Bracknell, Reading and Wokingham had to be diverted to Hampshire, adding to the cost, the authority said.

FCC Environment, which operates the centre, said a small battery was hard for workers to spot.

General manager Rory Brien said: "It's when it comes here or it goes in the back of a lorry, it can get crushed, it gets damaged and it's caught up in the machinery. That's what causes the fire."

Explosions at recycling centres have been caught on film

The Environmental Services Association (ESA), which represents waste firms, previously released footage of explosions at recycling centres across the UK.

Spokesman Ben Johnson said: "We see around 700 fires every year and at least one serious fire every single day due to batteries that have been improperly discarded."

Batteries can be safely recycled at waste recycling centres and some DIY stores and supermarkets, according to the ESA, which provides a list of options online.

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