A huge fire broke out at a south-west London recycling centre early on Thursday after a lithium battery was wrongly thrown away with household rubbish.
One hundred tonnes of mixed recycling caught fire in the incident, which has prompted London Fire Brigade (LFB) to warn Londoners about the importance of safely disposing of batteries.
Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters from five different stations were scrambled to the recycling plant in Smugglers Way, Wandsworth, around 12.45am.
They spent nearly three hours tackling the blaze, which was under control by around 3.30am.
Nobody is thought to have been injured.
London Fire Brigade (LFB). confirmed the fire is being treated as accidental, and was most likely caused by the failure of a lithium battery.
“Lithium batteries should not be placed in the same bins as your regular rubbish or recycling,” a brigade spokesperson warned following the incident.
“If they overheat, they may cause it to catch fire. Instead, check your local authority’s website for the safest way to dispose of lithium batteries in your area.
“Lithium batteries store a significant amount of energy in a very small space and are much more powerful compared to other types of batteries. If that energy is released in an uncontrolled way, then a fire or explosion may result.
“Batteries can present a fire risk if they’re overcharged, short circuited, submerged in water or damaged, so it’s really important to protect them against being crushed and dispose of them safely.”
