– I have a box for used batteries in the waste cupboard, and when it gets full, we take it with us and empty it here at the Smestad recycling facility, says Merete Lippert Tobiassen. On Tuesday afternoon, she and Geir Ueland were at the recycling facility to throw away, among other things, used batteries. Geir Ueland and Merete Lippert Tobiassen sort batteries at the Smestad recycling station. Photo: Karoline Johannessen Litland / news But not everyone has equally good routines. Figures news has obtained from the return company Norsirk show that 4,165 tonnes of batteries under five kilograms were sold last year. But the amount of batteries collected from shops and municipal waste stations was only 1,836 tonnes. This means that less than half was recovered. – Batteries in the residual waste constitute a very large fire hazard, both in waste disposal vehicles and in waste facilities. Most of the fires that occur are actually due to batteries being thrown away incorrectly, says operations manager Klaus Harms at the Smestad recycling plant. How to return used batteries 1. Tape the poles of the batteries before handing them in. There is often some residual energy in the batteries, and then you avoid them posing a fire hazard. 2. Bring the batteries and live for free to the store when you shop (or when you go to the recycling station). 3. Submit! Source: sortere.no Several hundred fires So far this year, there have been 37 fires in Norwegian recycling facilities, according to figures from the Directorate for Social Security and Emergency Preparedness (DSB). Since 2016, 387 fires have been registered. – Unfortunately, there are no figures on how many fires are caused by batteries in residual waste, writes press officer Morten Harangen in an email. Earlier in July, a fire started at a recycling station at Bølstad in Ås municipality outside Oslo. Communications manager Pia Lykke Jensen at the company Follo Ren, which operates the recycling plant, says that it is too early to say anything about the cause of the fire. Last summer, a fire started in a facility at Forus in Sandnes. The cause may have been a used battery that caught fire. Managing director Stig Ervik of the return company Norsirk explains that even if the batteries are discharged, there may still be charges left that can cause them to ignite. – That is why it is very important that the batteries are sorted correctly, and that we manage to collect as many as possible, he says. Want campaigns Labor politician and member of the energy and environment committee in the Storting, Linda Monsen Merkesdal, believes that consumers must be given better information about where and how used batteries can be returned. – I think we may have to start with some campaigns, and challenge the Norwegian Environment Agency to have some campaigns on the return of batteries, and challenge the retail chains to do better at informing about the return schemes, she says. Labor politician Linda Monsen Merkesdal believes that the information on where used batteries can be returned must be improved. Photo: Karoline Johannessen Litland / news The Storting politician has a clear call to get started with sorting batteries. – Have an empty jam jar, put the batteries in there, tape the poles and take them with you to the shop. – So at home you have a jam jar where you collect batteries? – I have it now! she replies. It says on the batteries that they should not be thrown in the rubbish bin. Photo: Karoline Johannessen Litland / news
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– It poses a major fire hazard – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
