A lithium-ion battery collection facility will be up andrunning at Ōtorohanga’s Enviro NZ site in the next few weeks.
Ōtorohanga District Council’s waste minimisation coordinator Jane Shaw says a contract for the new facility is being finalised.
Fire and Emergency NZ says the number of fires caused by the batteries has more than doubled since 2020.
The rise has coincided with the rapid increase in the number of devices using lithium-ion batteries – from mobile phones, laptops and vapes to e-scooters and power tools.
Overcharging or overheating are among the most common reasons the batteries catch fire.
They can also be the source of major blazes at scrapyards.
“Enviro NZ Ōtorohanga will accept batteries and is specifically set up to ensure that the fire risk of waste batteries is managed according to best practice,” said Shaw. “The batteries will be collected on a regular basis for processing at authorised facilities.”
As costs will be covered through central government’s Waste Levy Fund, Enviro NZ will accept batteries at no ‘charge’.
Waitomo District Council is also in the process of establishing a collection point.
George Jensen, senior advisor risk reduction, Waikato for Fire and Emergency New Zealand said there had been several incidents involving battery failures in the King Country in the last 12 months.
Although some smaller fire brigades – including Piopio and Benneydale – advised The News that they have not noticed an increase in fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, Ōtorohanga fire chief, Neville King said it does appear to be a growing problem.
“We haven’t had too many fires caused by them recently, but over the years there has been more and more,” he said. “Everybody’s using more things with lithium batteries.”
There are a couple of simple measures we can take to ensure our actions don’t spark blazes.
“Overcharging is one of the major problems, mostly by people leaving them plugged in overnight. They do need to be disposed of correctly at Enviro NZ and places like that.”
At present the nearest battery facilities ae in Te Awamutu, Cambridge and Taumarunui.
