November 19, 2024 • 4 mins
Councils and waste industry experts are calling for increased regulations for the disposal of used batteries following an escalation in fires.
WasteMINZ, the Waste & Recycling Industry Forum, Auckland Council and Christchurch City Council have come together to request direct action to prevent batteries from being thrown out or included in kerbside recycling.
WasteMINZ chief executive Nic Quilty says the organisation's website has a map of safe locations where people can dispose of their batteries and battery-powered products.
"Most of the facilities are free of charge, some of them cost a little bit of money - but not much - and that's the best thing to do."
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
There are calls for urgent action on old batteries because
the number of battery fires at waste and recycling facilities
has gone through the roof this year. It's probably sparked,
they think, by more and more lithium ion batteries from
the likes of old phones, vapes and so on being
thrown in the rubbish. Nick Quilty is the chief executive
of Wastemans and with us, Hey, Nick, Hi, Heather, how
I'm well thanks? How many more fires are you saying?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Well? In Auckland alone in the first quarter of this
year there were nine fires triggered by batteries and there
were thirteen in the whole of last year, so you
can see that they're just increasingly increasing, quite rapidly.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
And do you think these are caused by like the
batteries and vapes rather than your triple a's.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Look, they could be anything. They could be vapes, batteries
and vapes. They could be in your mobile phone, they
could be in laptops, they could be in iPads, they
could be in consoles, they could be from kids' toys.
Batteries that are just prolific and we are just buying
more and more electronic goods. So it's just getting becoming
a bigger and bigger problem.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
So do you know what which of the two is worse?
If you chuck your vapor in the rubbish, is that
as likely to spark a fire as if you chuck
your old triple A battery.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Locke, I don't think any of them are good. I'll
tell you what happens once they end up in you.
If someone puts them in their rubbish bin or their
recycling bin that ends up at curbside, a truck then
picks it up. If it ends up in a rubbish truck,
it's going to be squashed, It's going to be compacted.
It could be punched, it could be shredded, it could
be soaked in liquids. Also happens in the recycling truck
(01:30):
as well. And then what happens is all of these batteries,
well some of them, but can get very hot. And
then what happens is they ignite and they can cause fires.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Nick, I'm going to give myself away here. What are
you supposed to do with your battery lock?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I'll tell you what you need to do. So Wasteman's
were an industry body. We work with a waste resource
for covering contaminated land sectors. We have a map on
our website. We've got a working group that is working
on this, and it shows you where you can take
your batteries. Most of the facilities are free of charge.
Some of them cost a little bit of money, but
not much. That's the best thing to do, but you
(02:10):
need to contact. Once you found which facility is closest
to you, you contact the facility and you just find
out what the process is, what you need, or you
drop them off. I know, and and look, this is
a problem. I think what happens is people just take
the easy road and they go, oh, I don't want
to drive anywhere. I just want to just get rid
(02:31):
of them. I want them out of my house.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Now you're telling me I've got to make a phone
call first, and then I've got to drive, and then
I may have to pay money, whereas I could just
go to the kitchen, open the bin and check it in.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Well, you could, but you could cause a fire and
cause a fire. Could you could Number one, you could
hurt someone who's who's collecting the rubbish and the ends
up a fire in their truck. You could hurt a
member of the public who happens to be near the
recycling truck. You could damage the infrastructure where the fire
is taking place. So you know that's not great.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
So how do we get around this issue?
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Right?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
We have a major obstacle admin obstacle there to get
rid of batteries, So how do you get around that?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So what we want, because there's no national direction for
battery disposal, So what we want is we want the
government to prioritize a mandatory product stewardship scheme for small batteries.
And when I say small batteries, I mean under five kilograms.
And then what would happen is the cost of disposing
that battery would be included in the price that you
(03:33):
would pay when you purchase a battery, and this very
small increase could be used for more infrastructure and public messaging,
and that public messaging would be consistent across all of
New Zealand because at the moment, because there's no national direction,
all the messaging is just different depending on what region
you go to, and people just get really confused. And
(03:55):
that's one of the reasons why people throw them in
their bins and put them out at cups.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
A text saying here, the Bunnings takes them. Everyone loves
a trip to Bunnings.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So yeah, take them.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yes, Nick, what you just say that Bunnings takes.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Well, there's lots of others that take them as well.
Might attend, take them, Phoenix Recycling, there's a whole lot
of I mean, for some people, they might not have
the Bunnings. It's close to them, especially in some of
those really small areas. But yes, Bunnings does take them,
and they take them free of charge.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Okay, thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Nick.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
There we go. That's the problem solved. Bunnings and might attend.
That's Nick quality of Wasteman's the chief executive. For more
from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks.
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
There are calls for urgent action on old batteries because
the number of battery fires at waste and recycling facilities
has gone through the roof this year. It's probably sparked,
they think, by more and more lithium ion batteries from
the likes of old phones, vapes and so on being
thrown in the rubbish. Nick Quilty is the chief executive
of Wastemans and with us, Hey, Nick, Hi, Heather, how
I'm well thanks? How many more fires are you saying?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Well? In Auckland alone in the first quarter of this
year there were nine fires triggered by batteries and there
were thirteen in the whole of last year, so you
can see that they're just increasingly increasing, quite rapidly.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
And do you think these are caused by like the
batteries and vapes rather than your triple a's.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Look, they could be anything. They could be vapes, batteries
and vapes. They could be in your mobile phone, they
could be in laptops, they could be in iPads, they
could be in consoles, they could be from kids' toys.
Batteries that are just prolific and we are just buying
more and more electronic goods. So it's just getting becoming
a bigger and bigger problem.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
So do you know what which of the two is worse?
If you chuck your vapor in the rubbish, is that
as likely to spark a fire as if you chuck
your old triple A battery.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Locke, I don't think any of them are good. I'll
tell you what happens once they end up in you.
If someone puts them in their rubbish bin or their
recycling bin that ends up at curbside, a truck then
picks it up. If it ends up in a rubbish truck,
it's going to be squashed, It's going to be compacted.
It could be punched, it could be shredded, it could
be soaked in liquids. Also happens in the recycling truck
(01:30):
as well. And then what happens is all of these batteries,
well some of them, but can get very hot. And
then what happens is they ignite and they can cause fires.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Nick, I'm going to give myself away here. What are
you supposed to do with your battery lock?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I'll tell you what you need to do. So Wasteman's
were an industry body. We work with a waste resource
for covering contaminated land sectors. We have a map on
our website. We've got a working group that is working
on this, and it shows you where you can take
your batteries. Most of the facilities are free of charge.
Some of them cost a little bit of money, but
not much. That's the best thing to do, but you
(02:10):
need to contact. Once you found which facility is closest
to you, you contact the facility and you just find
out what the process is, what you need, or you
drop them off. I know, and and look, this is
a problem. I think what happens is people just take
the easy road and they go, oh, I don't want
to drive anywhere. I just want to just get rid
(02:31):
of them. I want them out of my house.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Now you're telling me I've got to make a phone
call first, and then I've got to drive, and then
I may have to pay money, whereas I could just
go to the kitchen, open the bin and check it in.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Well, you could, but you could cause a fire and
cause a fire. Could you could Number one, you could
hurt someone who's who's collecting the rubbish and the ends
up a fire in their truck. You could hurt a
member of the public who happens to be near the
recycling truck. You could damage the infrastructure where the fire
is taking place. So you know that's not great.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
So how do we get around this issue?
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Right?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
We have a major obstacle admin obstacle there to get
rid of batteries, So how do you get around that?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So what we want, because there's no national direction for
battery disposal, So what we want is we want the
government to prioritize a mandatory product stewardship scheme for small batteries.
And when I say small batteries, I mean under five kilograms.
And then what would happen is the cost of disposing
that battery would be included in the price that you
(03:33):
would pay when you purchase a battery, and this very
small increase could be used for more infrastructure and public messaging,
and that public messaging would be consistent across all of
New Zealand because at the moment, because there's no national direction,
all the messaging is just different depending on what region
you go to, and people just get really confused. And
(03:55):
that's one of the reasons why people throw them in
their bins and put them out at cups.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
A text saying here, the Bunnings takes them. Everyone loves
a trip to Bunnings.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So yeah, take them.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yes, Nick, what you just say that Bunnings takes.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Well, there's lots of others that take them as well.
Might attend, take them, Phoenix Recycling, there's a whole lot
of I mean, for some people, they might not have
the Bunnings. It's close to them, especially in some of
those really small areas. But yes, Bunnings does take them,
and they take them free of charge.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Okay, thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Nick.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
There we go. That's the problem solved. Bunnings and might attend.
That's Nick quality of Wasteman's the chief executive. For more
from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks.
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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