British Metal Recycling Association (BMRA) stated that households should be banned from disposing electrical equipment, devices, and lithium-ion batteries in roadside collection bins. The warning from the Association came just a few days after several fires sparked, as assumed, due to poorly disposed batteries.
It is proposed that local governments introduce separate curbside collection sites, so all e-waste can be properly handled and disposed by professionals, completely removing domestic households from the equation in recycling batteries.
As the officials from BMRA suggested, the matter is becoming urgent, as the data collected from the Environmental Services Association found that lithium-ion batteries are responsible for almost 50% of all waste fires that occur in the UK each year.