Lithium-ion waste fires in London almost doubled in the past year, according to new local council data costing the capital over £1 million1. The latest annual rise in London fire incidents (79%) was almost eight times the UK’s (10%).
There has been a fire in a London bin lorry, waste site or recycling centre caused by a battery every week for the past year, with 52 incidents recorded across the 12 London boroughs that provided data. Averaging at 4.3 fires per borough, fire services are now tackling hundreds of waste fires each year in the capital.
London accounts for one in ten fire incidents across the UK in waste and recycling sites and bin lorries.
London boroughs with the most waste fires in the past 5 years (2021-2026):
Lambeth Council: 70
Tower Hamlets Council: 34
Merton Council: 25
The data comes from Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 114 UK councils, issued by Vape Club, the UK’s largest online vape retailer, to raise awareness of how to safely dispose of batteries and small electrical items.
The retailer is also urging the government to offer battery kerbside collection across all councils as those that do offer it recorded a third fewer fires over the last year 2.
On average, the chance of a fire was 48% higher in council areas without kerbside collection of small electrical or battery products. Councils that did offer battery kerbside collection averaged 4.1 fires per council, rising to 6.1 for councils without kerbside collection.
The data found that just one in three London councils that provided data offered kerbside collection of batteries and/or small electrical items. Across the UK this rises to over half of councils.
The UK throws away over 1.6 billion batteries each year, estimates the National Fire Chiefs Council 3, but batteries and small electricals should never go in household bins. If crushed or punctured in a bin lorry or at a sorting site, they can overheat and ignite, putting crews, staff and nearby residents at risk.
London Fire Brigade figures show that of 228 lithium battery and electric vehicle fires in the capital between January and July 2026 involved 4:
131 involved e-bikes or e-scooters
92 ‘other’ lithium batteries (such as vacuum cleaners and power banks)
5 e-cigarettes
To dispose of small electrical items and batteries, find your nearest recycling point on the Recycle Your Electricals website.
Dan Marchant, director of Vape Club, said:
“Vapes are often blamed for battery fires, but London Fire Brigade figures show that across all lithium battery fires in the capital this year, e-cigarettes were behind just 2%. The real problem is that our waste system hasn’t kept pace with the number of products now powered by lithium-ion batteries, and that’s putting people who work in waste facilities at risk.
“The current waste disposal process for electrical products requires people to drop off batteries and small electrical items at local refuse drop-off locations, and as we saw with plastics recycling before kerbside collection, relying on drop-off points alone simply doesn’t work.
“We call on the government and waste disposal companies to work alongside electrical product manufacturers to ensure a suitable method of disposing of electrical waste and batteries is in place. Offering nationwide kerbside collection of small electrical and battery products would tackle the problem directly, and it’s clearly possible as around a third of councils are managing it successfully.”
Commenting on a recent Bermondsey fire, a London Fire Brigade spokesperson said:
“Lithium-ion batteries and electricals with hidden lithium-ion batteries should not be placed in the same bins as your regular rubbish or recycling. Instead, check with the retailer or your local authority’s website for the safest way to dispose of lithium-ion batteries in your area and reduce the risk of fires occurring.
“Lithium-ion battery fires are a major risk. We’ve seen a growing number of fires at waste disposal sites that are believed to have been caused by a lithium battery.
“Although lithium-ion battery products that have been built to a poor standard are a higher fire risk, any battery is at risk of exploding and catching fire if it has been crushed or becomes damaged. Lithium-ion battery fires can be ferocious and can spread in seconds.”