Wasteful and dangerous to dump batteries and electronics

Lithium is now used in many batteries, especially the rechargeable ones. But a damaged lithium battery can catch fire, or explode, without warning — so for safety reasons, people are asked not to put batteries into general bins, skips, or street bins

Some of the fast tech and low-quality, quickly discarded electronics found in municipal waste streams being sorted at Clean Ireland’s depot in Shannon, County Clare. Picture: Paul Corey

There has been a growing number of fires caused by batteries which have not been properly disposed of. Dangers created by used batteries are being highlighted by WEEE Ireland, the electrical equipment recycling organisation, which is appealing to people to use designated disposal facilities.

Some years ago, WEEE estimated an astounding 20 million batteries were in homes around the country on Christmas Day. There’s no reason to believe the situation has changed.