Greater Manchester waste bosses to spend £200k to prevent battery fires

Waste bosses are spending £200,000 on preventing fires involving lithium-ion batteries at recycling sites in Greater Manchester.

The batteries are increasingly being used inside items like power tools, e-scooters and vapes.

It can be dangerous when the batteries are disposed of and crushed because the chemicals inside are flammable.

The money is being spent on infra-red cameras to help detect the fires before they get out of control.

Lithium-ion batteries are the main type of rechargeable battery in portable consumer electronics.

There are up to 20 incidents a month involving lithium-ion batteries at recycling centres and inside bin lorries in the borough, according to the Greater Manchester Waste Committee.

Jon Alexander, from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFARS), said: "We haven't got enough knowledge yet on how to extinguish those sort of fires because its a new technology.

"We're just using our previous knowledge to keep the fires as cool as we can."

Waste bosses at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority said the cost of rebuilding a waste recycling site could be £10m.

As a result, they are spending about £200,000 on infra-red cameras.

Alan Quinn, who chairs the Greater Manchester Waste and Recycling Committee, said: "We've had a bin wagon fire in Bury and we've had fires at the waste recycling plants so there is this real problem.

"With the infra-red cameras, managers can tap-in via their mobile phones to see if the lithium is smouldering.

"They can detect it and quickly put something out."

Leon Parkes, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer at GMFARS, said: "If you remove your batteries to replace them - dispose of them properly.

"The shops where you can buy vapes are legally-bound to take the used vapes back."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]