In front of Tord Tjelflaat there is pallet after pallet of waste such as batteries, disposable cameras and spray cans. There are at least 60 of the disposable cameras alone. And everything is found in the paper waste. The quantities of electronics may have started the fire which completely damaged the post-sorting facility of Ivar at Forus in Sandnes. The facility had a price tag of NOK 650 million. There was a fierce fire in IVAR’s modern garbage facility at Forus on 22 July this year. Photo: news Everything was picked out of the remains after the big fire that started in the paper sorting. The waste that caught fire came from approximately five waste disposal trucks with paper on the same day. – When I saw this, I was shocked by all the foreign elements in the paper waste, says Tjelflaat, who is acting department manager for recycling at the inter-municipal recycling company Ivar. 80 per cent of fires are caused by batteries – Approximately one waste facility in Norway burns a week. 80 percent of fires are caused by batteries, says Tjelflaat. After the findings in the remains of the fire, he suspects that batteries may be the cause of the fire in Ivar’s facility as well. Batteries, disposable cameras and spray cans may have started the big fire this summer. Photo: kaj hjertenes / news – The cause of the fire may be a battery that has set fire to the paper. The probability of that is quite high, but we cannot prove it, he says. The police launched an investigation after the fire due to extensive material damage. The case was dropped shortly afterwards, as there were no suspicions of criminal matters. The electronic waste in front of Tjelflaat indicates that people are too lazy with their waste sorting. – I think there is little knowledge that batteries are as flammable as they are. A tiny battery can contain a lot of energy, and if it gets pinched in the equipment it can catch fire, says Tjelflaat. Tor-Widar Holte Gjesdal works in the plant at Forus. He takes a look at the waste lying on the pallets. He picks up a fist full of batteries of all sizes. After the findings in the remains of the fire, it is suspected that batteries may be the cause of the fire in the facility at Ivar. Photo: Kaj Hjertenes / news – Batteries are the worst. It can get stuck in the machines, split and catch fire, says Gjesdal. He glances over at the rows of disposable cameras. – I have never seen cameras in the paper waste before. They have batteries in them and can catch fire too, he says. Fire expert: – Not an unusual cause of fire Fire expert Torgrim Log says the theory that batteries may have started the fire is absolutely possible. – Batteries look innocent, but there can be a lot of heat production in a used battery, he says. He is a professor of safety science at the University of Western Norway, and fire safety is one of his research fields. Fire expert Torgrim Log. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen / news When batteries are thrown in the paper waste, this happens: – If the battery is damaged, or there are many batteries together, they can overheat. If they lie together with paper, it will provide good thermal insulation. Then the temperature in the battery increases, and the battery can start a fire. This is not an unusual cause of fire, says Log. – A national problem The industry is aware that a lot of batteries end up in the waste can at people’s homes. Tjelflaat believes the authorities are doing too little to prevent the batteries from going astray. – I don’t think the authorities are doing enough. I believe that Norway as a nation must have a much greater ambition to bring in more batteries. Today, half ends up in residual waste, he says. Tord Tjelflaat believes battery collection is a national problem Photo: Kaj Hjertenes / news He believes the fires in Norwegian waste facilities will not end if we do not overcome the battery problem. – It is a major national problem that we do not have better control over battery collection, says Tjelflaat. But the head of department believes that people can also become better at sorting themselves. – It is completely free to return batteries to, among other things, grocery stores and waste facilities.
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Batteries and disposable cameras may have set fire to waste facilities worth 650 million – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
