Vapes and batteries plea after bin lorry fire

People have been urged to throw away vapes and other items that use lithium-ion batteries responsibly after a bin lorry caught fire in Berkshire.

Slough Borough Council said a crew needed to temporarily dump about five tonnes of collected rubbish on to a road because of Monday's fire.

It happened on a corner in Britwell at about 08:30 BST and is thought to have been caused by a lithium-ion battery.

The authority's lead member for environmental services, Gurcharan Manku, said the items being thrown away irresponsibly puts crew members' lives at risk and could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The batteries can ignite if overheated, faulty or damaged, especially during warm weather.

Anyone throwing away lithium-ion batteries in Slough is asked to take them to the council's Chalvey Waste and Recycling Centre in White Hart Road. Throwing them away is free.

"A bin lorry fire puts the lives of our refuse collection crews at risk and can potentially cost tax-payers hundreds of thousands of pounds," Mr Manku said.

"To replace one bin lorry costs around £250,000 – money that could be better spent providing services, so we are calling on residents to do the right thing, keep batteries which have run out or are not useable anymore and then take them to the battery section at Chalvey."

In November 2023, about £20,000 worth of damage was caused to a Reading Borough Council site after a fire.

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