RESIDENTS are being warned to carefully check their waste after a North Cornwall bin lorry caught fire due to careless disposal.

Cornwall Council has issued a ‘take care’ reminder to residents across the county when disposing of their waste after a fire broke out in a bin lorry near Launceston on October 3.

The council has confirmed that the fire was caused when lithium batteries were crushed during a collection.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: “A fire broke out in the back of a bin lorry near Launceston last Friday. Thanks to the crew acting quickly, it was put out before anyone was injured or the vehicle damaged.

“A lithium battery was found to be the cause. Even flat batteries can catch fire when crushed in collection lorries or at waste processing sites.”

Following the incident, the council issued a plea for residents to ‘do their bit’ in keeping waste collection staff safe.

The spokesperson continued: “Please help keep our crews safe. Never put batteries in the bin. Recycle them at your local supermarket or household waste and recycling centre instead.”

According to the council, the average household in Cornwall throws away about 20 batteries a year. While that sounds minimal, that adds up to about 5.35-million batteries thrown away across the county, weighing in at a massive 123 tonnes.

The council states that residents should never throw batteries into regular rubbish bins as they can cause fires in collection vehicles, as demonstrated recently.

Instead residents are advised to, where possible, choose rechargeable devices that don’t need batteries; consider using rechargeable batteries instead of single use ones; and collect batteries in a container at home and, once full, take to a household waste recycling centre or supermarket battery recycling point.