A battery thrown into a household bin caused a small fire in Wandsworth this week, prompting the council to remind residents where to drop off old batteries safely.
The fire on Thursday was attended by the fire brigade and Serco, the borough’s waste contractor. No one was hurt but the event prompted Wandsworth Borough Council to published a safety advisory yesterday urging residents not to put batteries in their domestic bins or recycling.
The drop-off points are:
- Local libraries
- Leisure centres
- Wandsworth High Street Customer Centre
Accepted battery types include button cells, disposables, rechargeables, and standard sizes: D, C, AA, AAA, and 9V.
The incident is the third time in eight months that battery disposal has caused a fire or safety response in the borough. Last August, a lithium battery in a recycling bin caused a waste truck fire, badly damaging the vehicle, though no one was hurt then either.
Across Britain, the number of fires caused or likely caused by lithium-ion batteries in waste trucks rose from one in 2017 to 28 in 2023. More recent figures are expected to show a sharp increase.
The council’s advice is simple: once a battery is no longer in use, it goes to a drop-off point, not the bin.
For more background on the local pattern, our October 2025 investigation covers three Putney fires in four months linked to batteries and cheap chargers.
