Colchester Council bin lorry catches fire from car batteries

The batteries caught fre inside a council bin lorry, with Essex County Fire and Rescue services called to the scene to prevent the fire spreading to the rest of the vehicle on Wednesday.

Five batteries were found inside black binbags, three of which had ignited.

Known as reserve capacity cells, the batteries weigh close to half a kilogram and are used in cars, boats, and other vehicles.

The heavy duty batteries weigh close to half a kilo and release hydrogen gas when damaged

As lithium-ion batteries, the packs are not normally flammable; but if they are damaged or crushed, they release hydrogen which greatly increases the risk of a fire.

After the batteries combusted inside the bin lorry, council staff called the emergency services and worked with the Essex County Fire and Rescue crew to empty the contents of the lorry into the road and put the fire out.

The council’s bin crew then manually searched through the rubbish to find the batteries, before loading the rubbish back into the bin lorry.

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Following the incident, Colchester Council urged residents to dispose of batteries responsibly by taking them to retail units across the city, most of which offer special battery disposal bins.

Household waste recycling centres are also safe places to safely get rid of larger batteries.

Councillor Martin Goss, Colchester Borough Council portfolio holder for neighbourhood services and waste, said: “I want to thank our dedicated bin crew and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service for acting quickly to stop the fire from escalating and extinguish it.

“This reminds us of the dangers of throwing batteries in your black bag or wheelie bin.

“All kinds of batteries, whether they are standard AA or AAA or from other appliances such as laptops, mobile phones or cameras, must be recycled through the many drop off points across Colchester or one of the household recycling centres.”

The fire follows another incident which took place on Wednesday, when residents were asked to keep their windows shut after a fuel tanker caught fire at a chemicals plant.