Media Release

Battery Fires Increasing - Make sure you dispose of batteries safely. 

Fire and Rescue NSW are responding to an increasing number of battery fires, highlighting the need to dispose of batteres safely at the end of their useful life, says Member for Monaro, Steve Whan.

Steve Whan said "Fire and Rescue NSW data show a 20% increase in battery-related fire or explosion incidents compared to the first half of the last year. Many of those are lithium battery fired in homes, garbage trucks and tips.

"The message from our hard-working fire fighters is that batteries should never be put in household bins, they should be dropped off at a battery collection site.

"When they are dropped off correctly, 95% of battery components can be recycled.

"In Monaro there are a number of drop off points for batteries including the council operated waste transfer stations in Jindabyne, Bombala, Cooma, Bungendore, and Queanbeyan.

"In addition, many local supermarkets have recycling bins including most Woolworths and Aldi stores. A full list and local search can be found at Find a B-cycle Drop-off Point - B-cycle (bcycle.com.au).

"Devices with embedded batteries including mobile phones should be disposed of separately at an e-waste facility."

For more information contact Steve Whan at [email protected]