Fire agencies and the Battery Stewardship Council are calling on locals to be cautious about correctly storing, disposing of and charging lithium-ion batteries, with a map now available for battery drop-off locations.
Over the past five years, the South Australian MFS has recorded nearly a fivefold increase in Lithium-ion battery-related incidents, including fires in homes and in fire trucks.
On Monday 13 January around 10.30pm, a faulty lithium-ion push-bike battery exploded within a workshop at Power-Packed Batteries in Nairne in the Adelaide Hills, causing significant damage and destroying a large amount of stock and equipment. The family-run organisation is fundraising to rebuild following the incident, via gofund.me.
To avoid fires, products with rechargeable batteries should only be bought from reputable suppliers and used batteries should be safely stored and recycled.
Libby Chaplin, CEO of B-cycle, an initiative of the Battery Stewardship Council, says batteries should also never be put in general waste or recycling bins.
“They’re not just a fire risk at home—they can also harm workers in the waste and recycling industry and damage critical infrastructure. When a rechargeable battery is crushed inside a waste and recycling truck or at a recycling facility, it starts a chemical reaction that creates an explosive fire,” Libby Chaplin said.
The waste and recycling industry estimates 10-12,000 battery-related fires occur each year in Australia’s waste and recycling streams, with the cost to replace a destroyed recycling facility being approximately $60 million, and to replace a damaged truck between $250,000 and $500,000.
To reduce the fire risk, tape used batteries using clear sticky tape and cover terminals to prevent contact with other batteries and metals (as they can spark and cause fires).
There are over 5,200 accredited B-cycle Drop off points nationwide, which you can find in an interactive map via: Find a B-cycle Drop off point – B-cycle website.
