Biffa is rolling out a multi-million pound investment programme of Helios fire suppression systems to minimise the risk at its waste management facilities across the UK.
In its application, Biffa said about six billion batteries were thrown away in the last year nationwide – more than 3,000 a minute – with more than 1.1 billion of electricals potentially containing hidden lithium-ion batteries, such as laptops, mobile phones, electric toothbrushes, vapes and earphones.
Such batteries could become crushed or damaged in bin lorries or waste sites if they were not recycled and could cause fires, bosses said.
There were more than 1,200 fires in the waste system in the last 12 months nationally, compared to 700 in 2022, they added.