A bin lorry caught fire last week after a laptop and battery was wrongly put in a recycling bin - prompting an urgent warning from the council. 

The recycling collection truck was on its rounds in Amersham when it caught fire and quick-thinking crews worked to contain it while calling the fire brigade. 

Once the blaze was put out, the crew returned the truck to the depot and its contents was tipped out to make sure no further fires broke out. 

The cause of the fire was found to be a laptop and battery which had been put in a recycling bin for collection. 

Fortunately on this occasion, no one was injured and the truck was not damaged. 

Gareth Williams, Bucks Council's cabinet member for Climate Change and Environment said: “I know it can sometimes be confusing when it comes to recycling but please remember, not everything can go straight into your kerbside recycling bin.

“We really appreciate the efforts so many of our residents go to when it comes to recycling as much as possible, including electrical items.

"However, it is vitally important that what we recycle is disposed of in the right way to avoid dangerous incidents like this from happening again.

"While unwanted batteries and small electrical items can be recycled, it’s vital that they are not put into general waste or recycling bins as they can easily ignite and cause a fire.”

Across Buckinghamshire, batteries can be recycled at the kerbside if placed inside a standard carrier bag and left on top of the resident’s recycling bin.

They will then be collected by council crews on the day they normally empty the bin.

Small electrical items (broadly categorised as anything with a plug, battery or charger) should be taken to a local household recycling centre. These items include:

  • Hair dryers
  • Hair straighteners
  • Electric toothbrushes
  • Games controllers
  • Mobile phones and chargers
  • Small electrical power tools

If an electrical item is larger than a shoe box (for example, microwave ovens and car batteries) it will need to be taken to a Household Recycling Centre.

Alternatively, residents can arrange for items to be collected, for a fee, using the council’s bulky waste collection services.