Recommendatios For Tackling Fires Caused By Lithium Batteries In WEEE
Survey results (Part B) and compilation of practices and recommendations
Lithium batteries now feature in a growing range of electrical and electronic equipment, from phones and laptops to power tools. As their presence in the WEEE stream grows, so does the operational challenge for collectors, transporters and recyclers: damaged, overheated, short-circuited or physically impacted batteries can trigger thermal events and fires.
In 2019, the Batteries Roundtable brought together WEEE and battery recyclers, producer responsibility schemes and manufacturers - EERA among them - to tackle this challenge. A Europe-wide survey of 109 facilities across collection, sorting, transport and recycling followed, characterising battery-related fires and mapping practical countermeasures.
The result, Recommendations for Tackling Fires Caused by Lithium Batteries in WEEE (July 2021), compiles good practice across the full chain, from product design and collection to logistics, treatment, and the roles of producer responsibility organisations, authorities and policymakers. Its core finding: no single measure eliminates battery fire risk. Reducing it takes coordinated action, training and infrastructure across the entire value chain.
Why lithium batteries create fire risks in WEEE
Lithium batteries face conditions at end-of-life that are very different from normal use. Impacts, crushing, poor handling and extreme temperatures can all push a battery toward a thermal event, including:
Short circuits, including when external material connects a battery's poles.
Physical impact or shock, which can damage the battery or its internal components.
Extreme temperatures, above +60°C or below -20°C.
Internal deterioration, where ageing causes short circuits within cells or modules.
The growing variety of battery shapes, sizes and configurations makes this harder to manage, especially since batteries are often integrated into products and not easy to spot. If a thermal event is not caught quickly, it can escalate fast, which is why the report puts so much weight on prevention, early detection and training across the chain.
For waste companies, the fallout goes well beyond the fire itself. Facility damage, lost material and operational downtime add up to real, often unexpected costs.
What the survey found
The report is built on a Europe-wide survey of facilities handling WEEE with batteries and single batteries, covering collection, sorting, transport and recycling. In total, 109 completed questionnaires came back. The second part of the survey zeroed in on the good practices and measures facilities were already using to cut battery-related fire risk.
What emerged is that prevention and mitigation weren't theoretical. Facilities across the chain had already put changes in place: different handling and storage practices, staff training, dedicated containers, better fire detection and extinguishing systems, and ways of identifying and separating WEEE that contains lithium batteries.
The survey also confirmed something the report keeps coming back to “you can't fix battery fire risk at the treatment stage alone”. So, the recommendations run the full length of the chain, from product design and collection through logistics and treatment, with specific actions for producer responsibility organisations, local authorities and policymakers too.
Cost is a recurring theme. What it takes to implement fire prevention measures varies a lot from one facility to the next, depending on existing infrastructure and the kind of intervention needed. The report's advice is to weigh each measure against a facility's own circumstances, balancing the safety gains against the investment involved rather than applying a one-size-fits-all standard.
In the end, the survey gave the report its evidence base, the foundation for the recommendations and good practices set out across the WEEE value chain. It also made clear that better data on thermal incidents is still needed, both to guide future industry action and to inform policymaking.
Recommendations across the WEEE chain
The report does not put all the responsibility on recyclers. Its recommendations run the length of the equipment's lifecycle, from how a product is designed right through to collection, logistics and treatment, because what happens early on shapes the risks that waste operators end up dealing with later.
Product and battery design: At the design stage, three things stand out: making batteries easier to identify, making them easier to remove and better protected within the equipment, and improving their overall stability. Clear labelling goes a long way here, helping both consumers and waste operators spot products with lithium batteries and handle them properly once they reach end-of-life.
The report also pushes for closer cooperation between manufacturers and the recycling and reuse sectors, so that lessons learned on the ground actually feed back into how batteries and products get designed. And it argues for one set of design requirements at EU level, rather than a patchwork of national rules.
Collection
At collection, the goal is to stop lithium batteries slipping into WEEE streams unidentified and unhandled. That means sorting out WEEE containing lithium batteries, taking batteries out where it makes sense to, and having dedicated containers for both battery-containing equipment and loose batteries.
Collection systems need to be set up so material doesn't get physically damaged during storage and handling. Staff need to know what they're looking at and understand the risks, which means proper information and training. Consumers matter here too: clearer public information and better separate collection go a long way toward keeping batteries out of the general waste stream.
Logistics
For logistics, the report calls for dedicated staff training alongside operational steps that reduce fire risk during handling, storage and transport. WEEE containing lithium batteries, and batteries moved on their own, should travel in the right kind of receptacles.
Facilities handling logistics also need proper emergency procedures and the infrastructure to catch and respond to fires. In other words, risk assessment and prevention aren't just a recycling facility's job, they're part of transport too.
Treatment
At treatment facilities, it's the same story: trained staff, careful handling, proper storage, avoiding battery damage, and fire detection and extinguishing systems that actually work. One point gets particular emphasis: pulling lithium batteries out before mechanical treatment wherever possible, so they don't end up buried in downstream material fractions.
Facilities that receive batteries for further treatment are advised to segregate them properly, protect against short circuits, and package them according to their condition and chemistry.
The thread running through all of this is the same wherever you look: deal with battery fire risk as early as possible, do not just push it downstream. That takes better product design and identification, the right collection and transport systems, trained people, and prevention and emergency measures at every stage of the chain.
Fire prevention at treatment facilities
Treatment facilities carry a particular burden here, because lithium batteries can still be sitting inside WEEE by the time it reaches the treatment line. If they're not caught and pulled out early, they end up buried in the resulting fractions and get passed on to whoever handles the material next.
The report's answer to this is a mix of trained staff, operational controls, the right infrastructure, and being prepared for when something goes wrong. Personnel need to understand what makes lithium batteries risky and be able to spot hazardous material before it ever reaches the shredder. Pulling batteries out before shredding is flagged as one of the most important things a facility can do.
Operational and storage measures
Operators should be assessing fire risk from battery-containing WEEE and putting procedures in place for handling, storing and processing it safely. The right receptacles and storage setup make it easier to keep batteries and battery-containing material separated and cut down the chance of short circuits or physical damage.
Keeping fire loads down around processing lines and storage areas matters too, especially outside operating hours when there's nobody around to catch a problem early. Fire separation between processing areas, waste bunkers and other higher-risk zones is one of the infrastructures measures the report points to.
Detection and emergency response
Facilities need systems in place for spotting, preventing and putting out battery-related fires, whether that's surveillance, automatic extinguishing in waste bunkers, or coverage in sorting and processing areas. What's needed depends on the facility and how risky its operations are.
Emergency plans should specifically cover the hazards that come with battery-containing WEEE and loose batteries, not just fire in general. Working closely with local fire services helps too, through familiarisation visits and joint emergency planning.
One thing the report is upfront about: there's no single fix that works for every treatment facility. What's needed depends on the site itself, its activities, its infrastructure, its risk profile, and sometimes that means bringing in specialist advice to get the fire risk assessment and prevention plan right.
The role of PROs, local authorities and policymakers
The report makes clear that responsibility for reducing battery-related fire risks cannot rest with waste management companies alone. It identifies specific actions for Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), local authorities and policymakers, reflecting the need for coordinated measures across the WEEE and battery value chains.
Producer Responsibility Organisations
PROs can influence fire prevention through their contracts with companies involved in WEEE collection and treatment. The report recommends that contractual requirements may address staff training, fire-risk assessments, appropriate detection and extinguishing measures, reporting of thermal incidents and compliance with ADR requirements. Contracts can also establish procedures for sorting, handling and transporting WEEE containing lithium batteries.
The report also assigns PROs an important role in improving the evidence base. Systematic collection of data on battery-related fires and thermal incidents could provide a clearer understanding of their frequency, causes and consequences and support the development of more effective prevention measures.
Local authorities
Local authorities and other entities responsible for collection can help reduce risks before WEEE reaches logistics and treatment facilities. The report recommends raising awareness of fire prevention, detection and response and supporting appropriate collection practices for WEEE containing lithium batteries and separate batteries.
This includes ensuring that collection arrangements, staff awareness and information provided to users contribute to better separation and safer handling of battery-containing WEEE. The report notes that increasing the proportion of batteries entering controlled collection systems can help reduce fire risks further along the waste management chain.
Policymakers
For policymakers, the report identifies two particularly important areas: better data on battery-related fires and access to insurance for waste management facilities. It recommends improved collection of incident data to establish the scale of the problem and provide evidence for future policy and industry measures.
The report also highlights difficulties faced by WEEE and battery treatment companies in obtaining insurance. One proposal is dialogue between waste management companies and insurers to establish appropriate fire-protection standards, improve understanding of risk and explore how compliance with prevention measures could be reflected in insurance conditions.
More broadly, policymakers are encouraged to support investment in appropriate fire-prevention infrastructure and consider safety criteria within relevant public procurement frameworks.
The report therefore frames battery fires as a shared value-chain challenge. Collection and treatment companies can implement operational and technical measures, but effective risk reduction also depends on producer responsibility systems, public collection arrangements, appropriate policy frameworks and better data.
Costs, insurance and wider industry impacts
Battery-related fires create financial consequences for the WEEE sector beyond the immediate cost of extinguishing an incident. The report identifies damage to facilities, loss of material and temporary interruption of operations among the unexpected costs that can follow a fire. Companies also incur costs from investing in prevention, detection and extinguishing measures.
Investment in fire prevention
The cost of prevention measures can vary considerably between facilities, depending on existing infrastructure, operations and the measures required. The report therefore recommends assessing interventions according to individual circumstances and seeking specialist advice when designing an appropriate and cost-effective fire prevention plan.
This is particularly important because the report does not identify a single technical solution capable of eliminating battery-related fire risk. Investment may involve operational changes, staff training, dedicated storage and handling arrangements, surveillance, fire separation and automatic extinguishing systems.
Access to insurance
Insurance is identified as a wider concern for companies managing WEEE and lithium batteries. The report notes difficulties in obtaining insurance coverage and concludes that further work is needed to understand the scale of the problem and identify potential solutions.
One recommendation is to establish dialogue between WEEE and battery management companies and insurers. Areas for discussion include appropriate fire-protection standards, the conditions affecting renewal of insurance contracts and methodologies for calculating premiums. The report also suggests examining whether companies meeting defined levels of prevention and safety could benefit from reduced premiums, as well as the possibility of pooled insurance coverage for waste treatment facilities.
Implications for the wider WEEE sector
The report places these challenges within the wider transition towards a circular economy. It argues that the WEEE management sector's contribution to European circular economy objectives depends in part on its ability to manage the increasing risks associated with lithium batteries safely and sustainably.
Addressing those risks therefore requires more than investment by individual recycling companies. Better incident data, appropriate policy support, cooperation with insurers and coordinated action across the value chain are identified as necessary elements of a longer-term response.
Key conclusions
The report concludes that there is no single measure capable of eliminating fires caused by lithium batteries in WEEE. Reducing the risk requires coordinated action throughout the lifecycle of electrical and electronic equipment and batteries, from product design and collection through transport and treatment.
The recommendations point to several priorities:
Improving the identification, removability and protection of batteries in electrical and electronic equipment
Preventing damage to batteries during collection, handling, transport and treatment;
Strengthening training, fire prevention, detection and emergency-response measures;
Improving data collection on thermal incidents to support evidence-based industry and policy responses
Involving manufacturers, PROs, local authorities, waste operators, insurers and policymakers in developing coordinated solutions.
The report also identifies unresolved challenges, including access to insurance and the removal of integrated batteries from very small WEEE. It stresses that recommendations need to be tested and assessed to ensure that measures are technically and economically viable.
Overall, the report calls for a multi-stakeholder strategy that addresses battery-related fire risks across the WEEE chain rather than transferring responsibility and risk from one stage to another.
Important note
This report brings together recommendations and good practices identified through industry consultation, survey responses, expert input and literature research. The measures described may not be appropriate for every facility or operating environment. Their suitability and effectiveness should therefore be assessed before implementation, taking account of site-specific conditions and risks. Where appropriate, specialist advice on fire prevention and emergency management should be sought.
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