Forum Topic

Front Page

Smugglers Way, Lithium battery could have caused a fire.

Barbara Stevens ● 766d12 Comments

https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/incidents/2023/may/recycling-plant-fire-wandsworth/Advice on charging lithium batteriesThese are in very many things eg - computers, vacuum cleaners, mobile phones, vapes, e-scooters and e-bikes...Take care!

Philippa Bond ● 758d

Barbara Stevens ● 759d

We don't really have to do the sorting of different food packaging plastics now - as they are referred to as bottles, tubs and trays.  Our sorting at home is just an initial one - more happens later. And we no longer have to remember the codes.BTW there is also LDPE and PS which feature quite highly but PVC has pretty much disappeared as changes have been made to make the sorting and final recycling easier.

Philippa Bond ● 760d

Can we dispose of you thoughtfully.

Barbara Stevens ● 760d

It is much easier now as the systems and machinery have evolved and improved and become more uniform across the country.  People are however still involved in sorting - it is not fully mechanised without supervision.Lack of regulation of what was made and imported and sold together with the packaging meant that Councils (or rather Council Tax Payers ie US) have had to pay for increased amounts of disposal so you have and will be paying in one way or another.  UK law now makes it more expensive for Councils to dispose of unsorted waste.There are fewer items made of mixed materials now and there is less packaging and it should all be easier to recycle.Unlike some I care about the world I live in and will be leaving to my children and grandchildren.  Waste is now seen as a resource and needs to be processed for reuse.  The earth does not have unlimited resources for us to squander.  Everywhere can now be seen to be someone else's backyard and not just there for some of us to pillage and destroy..What is most clear is the less waste you make the less you have to deal with:Rubbish In  =  Rubbish OutWe need to buy AND dispose of items thoughtfully.

Philippa Bond ● 760d

Well be thankful you live within the Wandsworth area and don't have to do what somebody else is continually preaching about.

Barbara Stevens ● 760d

It had never occurred to me years ago that all the plastic bottles would be ordered and come into the country in one load and all the plastic lids in another (and still fit together).  A lot of work has been done over the years by WRAP working with big brands to lightweight packaging such as Heinz cans and also bottles both plastic and glass and to lighten the colour of the plastic lids on the plastic milk jugs.  The info on all the trials used to be on the WRAP website.  At one time plastic lids and bottles could be separated once shredded because one plastic floated and the other sank.  I think that progressed to all the same plastic or maybe it was because some green got into the milk jug mix and the customers weren't too keen on green tinged milk that they lightened the lid colours.  Now some have lids have the same colour as the milk jugs (why didn't they do that before) and the type of milk is just shown on the different coloured labelling.  It's been a long journey to get to today's packaging (and it is a long time since I visited the Dagenham plant where they turned all the plastic bottles into pellets to be taken off to make... new bottles and jugs.) But that's closing the loop ie  circular!The recycling instructions nowadays with plastic water/juice bottles and milk jugs is to empty and rinse them, drain and squash them and replace the lids before putting them in your kerbside recycling. 

Philippa Bond ● 760d

You may laugh, Mr Pike, but I fear that the time will come when you will need a degree in chemistry or biology before you are allowed to throw out a bag of rubbish safely. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/g804/recycling-symbols-plastics-460321/

David Ainsworth ● 761d

Andy very strange somebody died there a week earlier. Sure they were not trying to get rid of evidence.

Barbara Stevens ● 761d

There are always people who haven't worked out what they should be recycling and where to look for information.  The Wandsworth website BTW is out of date with links to pages that aren't there.

Philippa Bond ● 761d

I have to say Phillipa that your gran must have been an expert at sucking eggs, with a teacher like you.

Andy Pike ● 761d

http://www.putneysw15.com/default.asp?section=community&link=http://neighbournet.com/server/common/wandsrubbish019.htmALL batteries should be safely recycled (and NOT put in the kerbside recycling collection) as batteries can be damaged like and cause fires in the lorries as well as at the depot.  Lithium batteries are particularly notorious for causing fires.Batteries contain many precious metals which can be recycled.  Find out more and your nearest collection point:https://londonrecycles.co.uk/a-to-z/batteries/

Philippa Bond ● 761d