A recent white paper from the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (CIWM) has called for significant reform to UK battery recycling, stressing that fires caused by incorrectly disposed batteries are causing a “major crisis” for the waste sector.  

According to Material Focus, in 2023 more than 1,300 fires were caused, or suspected to be caused, by batteries at UK waste and recycling facilities or in collection vehicles. The cost of damage from these fires is estimated to be around £158 million.

Through the research programme ‘An EPR of Everything, Starting with Batteries!’, CIWM discovered that a clear lack of impactful consumer information, an increase of batteries in everyday items and a failure of producer responsibility rules to keep pace with the changing chemistry of battery technology, were the main reasons they were incorrectly disposed of. 

One big problem product, the report acknowledged, are vapes. Thankfully, disposable vapes are to be banned in the UK by April 2025. However rechargeable vapes also cause as many problems, as CIWM's report revealed. 1 in 7 adults in the UK use a vape or e-cigarette, and of those, 24% of rechargeable vape users typically dispose of their e-cigarettes via the general rubbish bin. The report described vapes as “everything that is wrong with the way new products are placed on the market without any consideration for end of life management” and stressed that this mistake must not happen again.  

CIWM is now calling for extended producer responsibility (EPR) for battery products and a targeted deposit return scheme (DRS) implemented in the UK. Changes that, according to their survey, are backed by 51% of the public who said they would use a DRS on "all or most occasions."

CIWM’s Director of Innovation and Technical Services, Lee Marshall said:

The current targets for battery recycling are out of date, easily met, and amount to little more than a tick-box exercise for the manufacturers and retailers of these products.

We call on the new government to rise to the problem of addressing hard to recycle products and to prioritise the launch of a battery DRS consultation as part of a shared commitment to developing a more circular economy.