According to the city of Hamburg’s sanitation department, permanently installed batteries in disposable e-cigarettes pose a significant fire risk when disposing of waste. Fires in containers have occurred several times. The cause of the fire is difficult to prove, but it is reasonable to suspect that it may have been caused by a lithium battery, a spokesperson for the city corporation said.
Two container fires were recorded this year, five last year, and four in 2023. Lithium batteries can catch fire if damaged. In addition, as with batteries in general, pollutants will be produced if burned.
A deposit system is required
Consumers should remove the batteries from e-cigarettes and other electrical devices and only then dispose of them at e-waste collection points at recycling centers or in depot containers. The city of Hamburg’s sanitation department advocates better regulation of the disposal of e-cigarettes, for example through storage systems or even banning existing distribution channels.
Recently, South Holstein Waste Management (AWSH) complained about an increase in fires caused by batteries. “Batteries and especially lithium-ion batteries pose a great danger if they end up in waste containers,” a spokesperson for the city corporation told the German Press Agency. If damage occurs to the vehicle or collection system – for example due to pressure, friction or heat – it can catch fire or even explode.
About 30 fires occur across Germany every day
Early last week, burning electronic waste led to a firefighting operation that lasted several hours at a second-hand and recycling company in Flensburg. Flensburg police assumed the pile, which was around 50 cubic meters in size, could have caught fire on its own.
According to the German Federal Association for Waste, Water and Circulation Management (BDE), fires occur around 30 times a day in garbage trucks, recycling centers and waste processing plants across Germany. It is estimated that around 80 percent of them Fire triggered by lithium-ion batteries or lithium batteries.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251122-930-325368/1
