Residents urged to be wary when recycling batteries after blaze at Aberdeenshire centre

Residents have been urged to remove batteries from electricals before disposing of them after a fire broke out a recycling centre in Aberdeenshire.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended a fire at Kirkhill waste transfer station in Mintlaw on Tuesday, May 27.

While the fire was safely extinguished and no one was injured, a spokesperson for the site said that had the station been lost, it would cost millions to rebuild and would disrupt all waste collections across the north east of Aberdeenshire.

Aberdeenshire Council has now warned that electricals containing batteries can cause fires when they are thrown in with household waste or recycling and crushed or damaged in bin lorries and recycling centres.

People looking to recycle batteries have been asked to dispose of them separately at the centres or in a sealed battery bag on top of the kerbside bin.

It comes after a fire at Peterhead’s household recycling centre earlier this year resulted in damage to the electrical container and the loss of valuable electrical items for recycling.

Ewan Wallace from Aberdeenshire Council said: “My sincerest thanks to the transfer station operative who spotted the smoke and contacted the fire brigade, and to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for their quick response.

“If we had lost the waste transfer station to fire, it would cost millions to rebuild and disrupt all waste collections across northeast Aberdeenshire.

“We are fortunate to have such swift acting individuals and that the fire started before close, so we’re asking residents to help ensure the safety of our staff and facilities by removing batteries wherever possible and recycling them separately from electricals.”