Batteries, vapes (powered by lithium-ion batteries) and electrical items should never be placed in any of your rubbish  or recycling bins. Batteries and hidden batteries within electrical items if binned, can get crushed or damaged and spark serious and dangerous fires in bin lorries and waste and recycling centres.

Fires caused by vapes and other electricals with hidden batteries are on the rise across the UK including 6 in the Borough of Bexley in 2024.

A small bag of broken small/medium-sized electrical items such as kettles and toasters can be collected through the TRAID kerbside collection service as long as you are recycling two bags of clothes at the same time.

Larger electrical items can be taken to one of our Reuse and Recycling sites or collected for a charge via our bulky waste collection service.

Residents can collect household batteries and vapes and take them to our two Reuse and Recycling Centres, council libraries, Civic Offices, Bexleyheath and most large supermarkets where there are designated containers for recycling.