Aberdeenshire waste transfer station fire sees advice issued to remove batteries from electrical items
A local authority is reminding residents to remove batteries from electricals before recycling following a fire at a waste transfer station.
While the cause of the blaze at Kirkhill in Mintlaw cannot be determined, fires across the waste sector typically occur when electricals containing batteries are thrown in with household waste or recycling and get crushed or damaged in bin lorries and recycling centres, or in this instance at the waste transfer station.
In Aberdeenshire electricals, if in suitable condition and with all parts and plugs, can also be donated directly to a charity or via a reuse container in Banchory, Ellon, Laurencekirk, Macduff, Stonehaven, Portlethen or Peterhead household recycling centres.
If not, they can be placed — with batteries removed — in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) container at any of the council’s recycling centres.
WEEE containers are also available at Port Elphinstone’s Davidson Park and at Insch’s leisure centre car park.
Aberdeenshire Council’s environment and Sustainability head of service Ewan Wallace 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 the north-east of 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.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended the site to extinguish the fire at the Kirkhill waste transfer station in Mintlaw on Tuesday, May 27.
Transfer stations are large industrial sheds where collection vehicles tip recyclable and non-recyclable waste collected from households into separate bays for bulking into lorries.
The recyclables are hauled to contracted reprocessing companies who transform them into new products or materials.
The non-recyclable waste is taken to the NESS energy from waste facility, located in East Tullos, that processes non-recyclable waste from Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City and Moray councils.
It produces electricity for the national grid and heat for a local district heating network. Waste taken to the facility is burned cleanly and completely, meeting strict EU emission standards.
Earlier this year, a fire at Peterhead’s household recycling centre resulted in damage to the electricals container and the loss of valuable electrical items for recycling, serving as a further reminder of the importance of removing batteries wherever possible.
Household batteries can be recycled separately from other electrical waste at all household recycling centres.
These batteries can also be recycled as part of a home’s weekly kerbside collections using freely available pink battery bags. Residents can leave a full and sealed battery bag on top of a kerbside bin being collected on any given week.
Battery bags are available for free from local household recycling centres, libraries or service points. These should not be used to dispose of vapes — they are for household batteries only.
Specialised drums are available at all household recycling centres across Aberdeenshire to safely store vapes or e-cigarettes before they are transported to Veolia in Portsmouth for recycling, where 94 per cent of all the materials inside them can be recovered.
