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Guernsey Waste is reigniting its dangerous waste awareness campaign to remind islanders not to dispose of items which pose a fire risk in their general waste.
Guernsey Waste’s campaign slogan “Check before you chuck, don’t leave it to luck” highlights household items that can pose a serious risk if thrown away in household general waste or recycling bags.
Among the hazardous waste being highlighted are out-of-date flares, batteries and gas canisters.
Last year’s campaign saw the safe return and disposal of hundreds of flares and other electrical items.
Douglas Button, Guernsey Waste’s Minimisation & Sustainability Officer, said: “Over the past four years we have had almost 40 separate fire incidents at the waste transfer station, seven of them caused by flares which had been incorrectly disposed of.”
“Luckily the fires were quickly extinguished by our fire suppression system, and no one was harmed. However, it only takes one item and it could be a much more serious incident. These items could have ignited or exploded at any point from when they were collected through to being processed.
“Our aim is to eliminate the disposal of these items in household waste altogether.”
In 2020, 13 fires were recorded at the waste transfer station. In 2021 this number reduced to eight, in 2022 there were six fires and in 2023 the number increased slightly to 10, one of which was due to a flare. Others were more likely to be caused by the ignition of lithium batteries under high pressure.
In the past four years, the Guernsey Fire and Rescue Services attended the waste transfer station on several occasions, to deal with fire incidents caused by items that were thrown away in general waste. 2
Guernsey Waste’s web page www.gov.gg/checkb4uchuck identifies the most common dangerous waste items and explains how to safely dispose of them.
Besides batteries, they include, e-cigarettes/vapes, electronic items, flares, gas canisters, laptops, and mobile phones. These items should never be disposed of household general waste or recycling bags.
Batteries, for example, can be recycled free of charge at Co-op Grand Marche Stores, Aladdin’s Cave, Waitrose, at all schools and the Household Waste & Recycling Centre (HWRC) at Longue Hougue.
Boatowners can safely dispose of flares for no charge by taking them to a marine trader (AB Marine, Boatworks+, Marine & General Chandlery or Sunsport Marine).
Electronic goods such as old laptops and mobile phones can be recycled at the HWRC.
