E-cigarettes cause rubbish fires – city cleanup criticized

Fire danger in Hamburg

E-cigarette batteries have caused several trash fires

Fixed batteries in disposable e-cigarettes cause dangerous fires when disposing of waste. The city’s sanitation department called for stricter regulations on dumping.

Hamburg’s municipal cleaning service warns of a significant fire risk caused by permanently installed batteries in disposable e-cigarettes when disposing of waste. There have been fires inside the containers several times, a municipal corporation spokesperson said.

The exact cause of the fire is difficult to prove, but it is most likely that a lithium battery was the cause of the fire. This year, the city’s sanitation department recorded two container fires, five last year and four incidents in 2023. Lithium batteries will catch fire if damaged and release pollutants if burned.

The city of Hamburg’s sanitation department recommends that consumers remove batteries from e-cigarettes and other electrical devices before throwing them in e-waste collection points at recycling centers or in depot containers. The company called for better regulations for the disposal of e-cigarettes, for example through a deposit system or a ban on existing distribution channels.

South Holstein Waste Management (AWSH) has also recently complained of an increase in fires caused by batteries. A spokesperson for the city corporation told the German Press Agency: “Batteries and especially lithium-ion batteries pose a significant danger if they end up in waste containers.” In vehicles or collection systems, they can catch fire or explode due to pressure, friction, or heat.

Early last week, the burning of electronic waste at a recycling company in Flensburg sparked a firefighting operation that lasted several hours. Flensburg police suspect that the pile of rubbish measuring around 50 cubic meters caught fire on its own.

According to the German Federal Association for Waste, Water and Circulation Management, fires occur around 30 times a day in garbage trucks, recycling centers and waste processing plants across Germany. It is estimated that lithium-ion batteries or lithium batteries are the cause of around 80 percent of these fires.