Enva supports national campaign to tackle “zombie battery” fires

Enva is participating in the national Take Charge campaign, which launches today Monday 24th October in the run up to Halloween and aims to tackle the serious problem of recycling and waste fires caused by carelessly discarded “zombie batteries”. 

The campaign urges consumers across the UK to Recycle Batteries Responsibly by using specialist battery and electrical device recycling services and reminds the public to never throw batteries away alongside general rubbish or other recycling by highlighting the fire risk. 

Dead batteries thrown away with other waste and recycling are likely to be crushed or punctured once the waste is collected and processed. Some battery types can ignite or even explode when they’re damaged in waste collection and treatment processes. Once this happens, the batteries can set fire to other materials present in the waste, like paper and card, leading to serious incidents that can put lives at risk and take days to extinguish. 

Although safe to use normally, lithium-ion batteries are particularly prone to causing fires or explosions if they are not recycled properly. These batteries are most commonly found in products like laptops, tablets, mobile phones, radio-controlled toys, Bluetooth devices, shavers, electric toothbrushes, power tools, scooters and even e-cigarettes. 

Jacob Hayler, Executive Director of the Environmental Services Association (ESA), which created the campaign, said: “We urge everyone to help us reduce the growing number of battery fires by recycling all batteries and waste electrical devices responsibly using free local services. Less than half of all the batteries sold in the UK are currently recycled, so there is a lot of room for improvement and the more batteries that are recycled properly, the fewer will end up where they shouldn’t be.” 

Enva will be supporting the Take Charge campaign by sharing battery recycling guidance information and campaign assets with our customers and employees on our social media channels.

Consumers can find out where to recycle batteries responsibly in their local area, and more about the dangers of Zombie Batteries, by visiting the campaign website at www.takecharge.org.uk

Take Charge – please recycle batteries responsibly.

Take Charge Posters for Noticeboards