Wrongly sorted batteries spark two fires a week
Sweden’s national plastic recycler says batteries spark two fires a week. It finds about two million of them in packaging waste each year.
A battery dropped among plastic packaging can ignite after it reaches a national sorting line. The recycler handling Sweden's household plastic says the mistake causes fires week after week, at a scale most people never see.
Sveriges Radio reports that Svensk Plaståtervinning averages two fires a week at its facility. Chief executive Mattias Philipsson said lithium batteries can develop an explosive fire when damaged.
The company says batteries entering plastic streams can stop production and put staff at risk. Its sorting guidance says batteries must instead go to a designated collection point or battery recycling facility.
Some batteries are easy to miss because they sit inside toys and small electronics. Sweden's packaging collection also contains other wrongly sorted products, reducing how much material can be recycled.
The hidden scale is about two million batteries a year, according to the recycler. Its advice is simple: remove batteries from plastic items when possible, and never put them in plastic-packaging recycling.
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