The warning follows multiple fires in Glasgow City Council refuse vehicles, prompting the launch of a new safety campaign, Take Charge Glasgow.
These fires have sometimes forced crews to dump burning waste onto roads to prevent the flames from spreading.
The new campaign, supported by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), urges residents not to throw batteries, vapes, or small electrical items into household or street bins.
Instead, these items should be taken to designated recycling points at shops, electrical retailers, or council waste centres.
Improper disposal of batteries and vapes has been linked to more than 1,200 fire-related incidents at waste collection and processing sites across the UK.
The warning follows multiple fires in Glasgow City Council refuse vehicles, prompting the launch of a new safety campaign, Take Charge Glasgow. (Image: Supplied)
Lithium-ion batteries, commonly found in mobile phones, laptops, game controllers, and e-cigarettes, pose a serious risk if crushed or damaged inside refuse vehicles.
Councillor Laura Doherty, City Convener for Neighbourhood Services and Assets, said: “We have seen at close hand in Glasgow the dangers posed by disposing of batteries and vapes, in ordinary bins.
“We have a responsibility to speak up and warn against failing to recycle batteries properly.
“Our staff, vehicles and depots can be put at enormous risk by one careless action. Lithium-ion batteries are a particular danger if they are crushed within a refuse vehicle or other waste processing equipment.
“I am extremely grateful for the backing we have received from Scottish Fire and Rescue for the Take Charge Glasgow campaign.
“The Fire Service clearly recognises the gravity of this issue, and I hope creating this united front has an impact on how people dispose of their batteries, vapes and electrical devices.
“The message of the Take Charge Glasgow campaign is very simple. Never bin your batteries or vapes, always recycle at a dedicated recycling point.
“Information on where you can recycle your batteries and vapes can be found at glasgow.gov.uk/batteries.”
Last year, several fires broke out in council waste lorries in Glasgow, one of which occurred on the M80 motorway.
The incident led to the closure of the motorway while emergency crews extinguished tonnes of smouldering rubbish.
Fire on the M80 last year (Image: Colin Mearns)
Area Commander Andrew Kenna, the SFRS’s local senior officer for Glasgow, said: “Safe disposal is a simple step that prevents fires before they start.
“Lithium-ion batteries, vapes and even AA or AAA batteries must always be recycled at dedicated points and never put in household waste.”
The Take Charge Glasgow campaign will be promoted across television, radio, bus shelters, the subway and on refuse vehicles.
It will also be publicised on social media and in housing association newsletters.
Information on where to safely recycle batteries and vapes is available at glasgow.gov.uk/batteries.
We reported last year that three vehicles in the council’s £5m cleansing fleet were damaged in fires caused by lithium batteries.
In one incident, a blaze broke out in the back of a lorry on school grounds, forcing the driver to dump the load and attempt to extinguish the fire before firefighters arrived.
Chris Mitchell (Image: Colin Mearns)
Chris Mitchell, GMB convenor, said: “For this to happen three times in two weeks is extremely concerning.
“The more powerful compacting systems in the new lorries can crush vapes, causing them to ignite.
“Someone could be badly injured or worse.
“People are throwing batteries and vapes away on a whim with no thought for where they’ll end up.
“We need to educate them about the real danger.”
A council spokesman said the problem is a “matter of great concern” for Glasgow and the wider UK.
The spokesman said: “Batteries and other hazardous items should never be put in household bins.
“They can cause fires that endanger staff and disrupt waste collection.
“Residents should always recycle these items responsibly at recycling centres or supermarket drop-off points.”
