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Guernsey launches dangerous household waste campaign

States of Guernsey fire officers in front of fire engineStates of Guernsey
Islanders are being encouraged to dispose of dangerous and flammable items correctly in a new campaign

A campaign advising islanders how to correctly dispose of potentially dangerous household items has launched.

Guernsey Waste's 'check before you chuck, don't leave it to luck' campaign highlights items that should not be put in the general waste.

Since 2019, 29 fires at its waste station were caused by items being incorrectly disposed of.

High-risk products include batteries, gas canisters and e-cigarettes.

Tim Falla, from Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service, said: "In the past three years we have attended the waste transfer station at Longue Hougue on a number of occasions, to deal with fire incidents caused by items that were disposed of as general waste.

"Fortunately, none of these incidents have caused serious injury or damage, but there is always that risk.

"We would therefore urge islanders to be aware of items that can be dangerous and follow the advice on how to dispose of them correctly."

The most common dangerous waste items are:

  • Digital cameras
  • E-cigarettes
  • Electronic items
  • Flares
  • Gas canisters
  • Laptops
  • Mobile phones

Rachel Scally, from Guernsey Waste, said four of the 29 fires over the past three years were caused by flares.

"None of these resulted in serious injury or damage because our fire suppression systems managed to extinguish them.

"However we have been lucky so far because these items could have ignited or exploded at any point from when they were collected through to being processed," she said.

The slogan will be seen on posters across the island, on beer mats, banners and on social media.

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