A sixth fire linked to discarded batteries has forced a Glasgow bin lorry crew to dump a smoking load onto a city street - prompting fresh warnings over dangerous dumping in household bins.
They come after a refuse truck had to eject its entire contents onto Earl Street in Scotstoun on Tuesday afternoon after smoke was spotted billowing from the back of the vehicle.
Thankfully cleansing staff managed to employ stringent safety measures before the situation turned into a full-scale fire.
Union bosses previously said they feared someone could be badly hurt or killed as the result of people carelessly disposing of lithium-ion batteries, commonly found in vapes, laptops and mobile phones.
The warning from GMB chiefs came after a major fire broke out within a vehicle from the council’s new £5million cleansing fleet as it travelled on the M80 while carrying waste to landfill.
Flames were seen leaping from the back of the lorry as it was forced onto the hard shoulder to dump its burning load during the October incident.
In another recent incident, a blaze was found to have started in the back of a lorry while on the grounds of a Glasgow secondary school, forcing the driver to dump the load and attempt to extinguish the flames as he waited for firefighters to arrive on the scene.
Chris Mitchell, GMB cleansing convenor, said: "For this to happen for the sixth time is very concerning. Thankfully, the crew noticed smoke coming from the back and acted quickly.
“However, there’s no getting away from the fact that this was a very dangerous situation that could have had dire consequences. People need to stop disposing of lithium batteries in household waste.”
He added: “We have no way of knowing what’s getting emptied into the trucks. The more powerful compacting systems in the new lorries can crush vapes, causing them to ignite.
“It’s pure luck that no one has been seriously hurt so far.”
The string of fires within its fleet prompted Glasgow City Council to launch a safety campaign, Take Charge Glasgow to try and tackle the problem.
The drive, which is supported by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, is urging residents to take items powered by the batteries to designated recycling points at shops, electrical retailers or council waste centres instead of throwing them into domestic bins."
Councillor Laura Doherty, City Convener for Neighbourhood Services and Assets, said: “We have seen the dangers posed by disposing of batteries and vapes in ordinary bins.
"Our staff, vehicles and depots can be put at enormous risk by one careless action. Lithium-ion batteries are a particular danger if they are crushed within a refuse vehicle or other waste processing equipment.”
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council added “It’s highly concerning that batteries continue to be wrongly disposed of within household bins.
“Our staff responded quickly to this incident by unloading waste on to the street as soon as they became aware of smoke coming of the rear of vehicle, which is fully in line with staff training.
“Thankfully no-one was injured and no damage to the vehicle was sustained, which is a credit to the prompt actions of the team.
“Glasgow recently launched the Take Charge Glasgow campaign to highlight the dangers posed by disposing of batteries in household waste. Batteries and other electrical items such as vapes should never be disposed of in a household bin.
“Residents should always recycle their batteries at their local recycling centre or the recycling points found in a wide range of supermarkets, retail outlets and other public buildings.”
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