Buckinghamshire residents are being reminded of the correct way to recycle electrical items following a recent fire on one of the council's refuse vehicles.
Last week, a recycling collection truck was on its rounds in Amersham when it caught fire due to the erroneous presence of a laptop and battery.
Luckily, the quick-thinking crew spotted the fire and acted promptly to contain it, although the fire service was still required to attend. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident.
Once the fire was extinguished, the vehicle returned to the depot where upon the cause of the blaze was established.
Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment said: "I know it can sometimes be confusing when it comes to recycling but please remember, not everything can go straight into your kerbside recycling bin.
"We really appreciate the efforts so many of our residents go to when it comes to recycling as much as possible, including electrical items. However, it is vitally important that what we recycle is disposed of in the right way to avoid dangerous incidents like this from happening again. While unwanted batteries and small electrical items can be recycled, it's vital that they are not put into general waste or recycling bins as they can easily ignite and cause a fire."
Across Buckinghamshire, batteries and small electrical items can be recycled at the kerbside if placed inside a standard carrier bag and left on top of the resident's recycling bin. They will then be collected by council crews on the day they normally empty the bin.
Small electrical items (broadly categorised as anything with a plug, battery or charger) include:
Hair dryers
Hair straighteners
Electric toothbrushes
Games controllers
Mobile phones and chargers
Small electrical power tools
If an electrical item is larger than a shoe box (for example, microwave ovens and car batteries) it will need to be taken to a local Household Recycling Centre. Alternatively, residents can arrange for items to be collected, for a fee, using the council's bulky waste collection services.
For more information visit the Recycle for Buckinghamshire website.
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