Veolia and East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service partner to keep residents safe

Veolia, the UK’s leading resource management company, has launched a campaign in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove to combat a rise in fires that has reached, on average, one preventable fire every day across the UK, including in the South Downs, where Veolia operates a network of facilities to process and treat household recycling and waste.

The campaign aims to educate the general public about the dangers resulting from the incorrect disposal of certain waste items and how this puts collection crews, facility workers, firefighters and the general public at risk as well as causing damage to vital recycling infrastructure.

The fires occur across the country in Refuse Collection Vehicles (RCVs) in residential areas, on roads and in waste management facilities, due to residents putting dangerous items in their recycling or general waste bins and on-street litter bins. This puts both Veolia staff, firefighters, and the general public in direct danger.

Residents can visit veolia.co.uk/dangerous-waste to see real footage of the fires and explosions caused by dangerous items like vapes, batteries, electrical items, and gas canisters.

Household batteries, small electrical items, used vapes, gas bottles and nitrous oxide (NOx) canisters need to be handled safely during disposal. You can take these items to your local Household Waste Recycling Site to be recycled safely.

Vapes, electrical items, batteries, and gas canisters become extremely flammable when they are crushed. This puts both collection crews and the staff at recycling and waste sorting and processing facilities at risk of burns, chemical exposure and smoke inhalation, injuries that can be life-changing.

Darren Powell, Veolia East Sussex General Manager, said: “In East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, we pride ourselves on carrying out essential services whilst putting safety first in the workplace, and we do not accept our people or the communities we serve being put in danger. This campaign aims to educate residents on how to ensure their waste is safe, and we ask everyone to make these simple changes that will greatly decrease the chance of fires in our facilities. This will have a huge impact on keeping the vital industry we work in safe and ensure that the people that handle waste are kept out of harm’s way whilst protecting the valuable materials residents work hard to separate for recycling.”

ESFRS Group Manager and Waste Fire Lead, Dan Channon, said: “Fires caused by incorrect disposal of small loose batteries, electrical items and lithium-ion batteries is a growing issue for the fire service and our communities. Many people aren’t aware that these items shouldn’t be put in bins and the impact this can have.

“These fires can put lives at risk and are especially challenging to tackle as they can lead to explosions, chemical exposure and repeated reignition, often hidden deep within waste piles, which require significant resources from the fire service and waste sector to deal with.

“We urge residents and businesses to dispose of items safely. These incidents are preventable and through collaboration with Veolia South Downs, we aim to educate and raise awareness to help keep everyone safe. By working together with our communities, we can reduce the risk and the devastating impact these fires can cause.”

ESFRS Primary Authority Manager, Thomas Nash, said: “We were delighted to be approached by Veolia South Downs to collaborate on this campaign. It’s a positive example of what effective Primary Authority Partnerships can deliver when we work together to reduce risks and help protect businesses, staff and our communities.”

Other useful links:

• Not sure how to recycle or dispose of your electrical or battery operated items? Type in your postcode and item at: Recycle an Item | Recycle Now
• You can also type in your postcode and item at: Recycle Your Electricals - WEEE Recycling - Material Focus
• Dangerous Waste Veolia videos: Putting dangerous items in bins puts real people in danger
• Information from National Fire Chiefs Council: Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, but safety standards haven’t caught up, warn Fire Chiefs - NFCC