GMB sounds alarm over bin lorry fires blamed on batteries

A nationwide spate of bin lorry fires caused by discarded batteries is a disaster waiting to happen, GMB Scotland warns.

The union, one of the biggest in Scotland's public sector, fears lives are at risk as fires linked to lithium batteries, found in many electrical items from vapes to electric toothbrushes, are reported across the country.

Five fires in bin lorries have been reported in Glasgow in recent months while firefighters report similar blazes around Britain after the tiny batteries were crushed by high-compression trucks and ignited rubbish.

Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser, said a nationwide awareness campaign is needed urgently to alert the public to the dangers of binning electrical items.

Regulations already makes retailers responsible for collecting old vapes and distributing information about the dangers of binning them to customers but, Greenaway said, there is little enforcement.

He said: “This is a problem that will only get worse and more dangerous with every new lorry on our streets.

“Batteries which were not crushed by older vehicles are now being damaged and starting fires inside lorries.

“It is only luck that no one has been hurt so far but we cannot rely on good fortune to prevent a disaster.

“These fires can be terrifying and unsettling for crews and anyone nearby but the potential consequences in busy traffic, for example, could not be more serious.”

Greenaway said the unfolding emergency demands a national response and said Cosla, representing Scotland’s councils, and ministers should meet with unions urgently to discuss other potential measures to ease the danger to workers and the public.

In addition to a nationwide awareness campaign, the union is calling for other potential measures to be reviewed and costed including the provision and collection of more dedicated bins for electrical items.

Greenaway said: “Retailers must do more because telling people they must travel to waste management centres to dispose of vapes safely will only go far in mitigating the risks.

“There are far more small electrical items containing lithium batteries and the public must be given more options to dispose of them safely.”

London Fire Brigade echoed the alarm last week after a bin lorry went on fire in Brixton in an incident described as “terrifying” by witnesses.

When damaged, lithium batteries can suffer "thermal runway" and eject gas and sparks.

ENDS