Thursday 26 September 2024

EMBEDDED BATTERY DISPOSAL TRIAL IN NSW WELCOMED - OTHER STATES URGED TO FOLLOW SUIT
 
The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) today welcomed the announcement by the NSW Government of a trial to collect and safely dispose of embedded batteries in items like vapes, toys and household wireless products.

“Getting battery powered items out of bins and waste and resource recovery (WARR) collection vehicles and facilities is an absolute priority because we are seeing fires on a daily basis caused by the lack of a proper disposal pathway,” WMRR CEO Gayle Sloan said.

“WMRR congratulates the NSW Government for taking the lead and acting on this urgent issue impacting the WARR industry and calls on all other states and territories to immediately follow suit,” she said.

“The WARR industry has long highlighted this gap in the collection system and the subsequent fire risk it creates, as far too many items with embedded batteries are disposed of unsafely in systems that were not built to manage them.

“Faced without a safe disposal pathway, consumers often incorrectly dispose of vapes and other battery powered items in the nearest bin, where they pose a major fire risk for essential WARR workers, vehicles and facilities, especially when crushed.”

Under the NSW trial, 21 council-operated Community Recycling Centres will have designated bins to allow people to safely dispose of items with embedded batteries free of charge. A full list of acceptable items and collection locations can be found here. 

“We need action from all states and territories to ensure there is a safe disposal pathway for all battery powered items,” Ms Sloan said.