Battery causes fire in dustcart in Canterbury - residents are warned of the dangers

A battery is believed to have caused the fire Credit: Canterbury City Council

There's been a serious fire in one of a recycling dustcarts in Canterbury, believed to have been caused by a battery in the rubbish.

The city council say the incident on the 22 September is the second such incident in only a few days – the last one was caused by someone chucking a full car battery into their waste.

In the incident on Friday firefighters had to cut the roof off the dustcart to tackle the blaze and it meant delays to people's rubbish collections.

Residents are now being urged to not put batteries into their rubbish.

The council says when damaged, batteries have a tendency to explode or ignite. And when they are put in with the general rubbish or recycling, they’re likely to be crushed, compacted, smashed or they might get wet.

The lithium will then set fire to the waste in the lorry.

Batteries used for domestic purposes can be taken to:

  • local household waste recycling centres

  • supermarkets

  • electrical shops

  • participating libraries

  • participating schools

Car batteries should be taken to the household waste recycling centres.

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