LIVES are being put at risk by residents failing to dispose of batteries correctly, it has been claimed, after five bin lorry fires in nine months in Basildon.

Basildon Council has issued an urgent warning to residents to never place batteries in recycling bags after one incident caused £15,000 worth of damage to a bin lorry.

The most recent fire, on February 8, is the latest in a long line of incidents sparking fears from Basildon Council deputy leader, Kevin Blake, that “lives are being put at risk”.

The councillor, who represents the Burstead ward, said: “This is putting our staff’s lives at risk and I am very angry about this.

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“I’ve seen people on social media blaming the council, batteries come with warnings about this.

“These irresponsible people are putting our staff at risk.”

The fire on February 8 took place in Berry Lane, Langdon Hills, council bosses have confirmed.

Posting on Facebook, the council claimed it was the fifth bin lorry fire in the last nine months - all linked to batteries in pink recycling sacks.

Maryam Yaqub, leader of the Labour party, said: “Our refuse collection team works incredibly hard and does not deserve to have their safety and wellbeing put at risk.

“We need to ensure there is a process to educate residents around the harmful effects of putting batteries, oil and chemicals in our vehicles but we also need to make it easier for residents to follow the rules in a way that makes this task easy not difficult.”

Echo:

A Basildon Council spokesperson: “A fire occurred in one of our recycling vehicles on the morning of Wednesday 8 February in Berry Lane, after batteries were placed in a pink sack.

“Essex Fire and Rescue were immediately called and attended the scene within five minutes. They praised our crew for their swift and effective actions – with them being able to put the fire out quickly because of it having been ejected from the vehicle. 

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“The crew's actions prevented any damage to the vehicle, and luckily all the crew members were unharmed. However, in one of the other fires to our refuse vehicles in recent months, £15,000 of damage occurred as a result.

“Batteries, oil, chemicals, and hot ashes can all cause fires in our vehicles. Never place these items in your waste and recycling bins as they can cause serious, expensive damage to our vehicles, and more importantly they put our refuse workers and members of the public at risk.

"On this occasion it meant that Supervisors, clean-up crews, and other staff had to attend, which also affects the delivery of our waste services. You can take batteries and all small electricals to be recycled at our Barleylands Recycling Centre or at other recycling centre for household waste.”