Glasgow City Council has launched ‘Take Charge Glasgow’, a campaign developed to tackle the growing threat of battery and e-waste fires in its refuse fleet. David McCulloch, Head of Waste Management at Glasgow City Council, explains how the campaign works and what it means for fleet safety and service reliability.
1. What specific risks have Glasgow’s refuse collection and recycling fleet experienced from batteries and e‑waste fires, and how did these influence the decision to launch ‘Take Charge Glasgow’?
Within the waste & recycling industry the incorrect disposal of waste batteries and electrical items has become a significant issue. Lithium-ion batteries are a particular danger if they are crushed within a refuse vehicle or other waste processing equipment.
In the past year the council has had five fires within refuse vehicles that have been directly linked to batteries and electrical devices that have been incorrectly disposed of within household bins.
Due to the growing issue both locally and at a national level, the council made the decision to take action and collaborate with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to develop and launch the ‘Take Charge Glasgow’ campaign.
The objective of the campaign is to influence residents and visitors of Glasgow to recycle waste batteries, electrical devices and vapes responsibly using dedicated recycling points. In addition, this will contribute towards protecting the health and safety of collection crews and depot staff, as the campaign seeks to minimise the opportunity for incidents to occur in vehicles and depots.
The campaign highlights that one careless action can be catastrophic and drives the public to ‘take charge’ and not give fire the spark it needs.
2. How is the campaign expected to reduce vehicle downtime, damage to fleet assets and associated costs from battery‑related fires?
The refuse vehicle fires that the council has encountered in the past year has impacted the delivery of collection services.
Contingency vehicles had to be utilised to minimise service disruption and the repair costs of the fire damaged vehicles exceeded tens of thousands of pounds. If battery fires escalate, vehicle downtime could increase and collection service delivery, including costs, will be negatively impacted.
The ‘Take Charge Glasgow’ campaign aims to create a positive behavioural change within the city, through educating the public on the dangers of incorrect disposal of batteries and electrical devices, which in turn will help reduce the likelihood of an incident occurring.
3. What steps has the council taken to support fleet crews’ safety training and incident response regarding battery fire risks?
Glasgow City Council Refuse Collection Operatives and Drivers are provided with training on the action to take in the event of a fire. This includes a dedicated work instruction that advises on the steps to be taken.
The safety of council staff is paramount. Therefore, relevant training, toolbox talks and work instructions will continue to be reviewed and updated as required.
4. Are there plans to integrate ‘Take Charge’ messaging into collection crews’ regular engagement with residents to improve disposal behaviours?
Yes, Glasgow City Council will be promoting the ‘Take Charge Glasgow’ messaging on a bi-annual basis. This will include further engagement with residents via various communication channels. Collection crews will be made aware of the plans for the campaign, including any future content, this will enable them to answer any enquiries they encounter from residents.
5. How are data from refuse fleet telematics or fire incidents being used to target communications and evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness for service reliability?
In-line with operational procedures Glasgow City Council will continue to monitor any incidents of fire and take the appropriate action.
If a battery or electrical device has been identified as the suspected cause of a refuse collection vehicle fire, the council will identify the collection route undertaken where the fire occurred.
If fires frequently occur in the same areas of the city, the council will aim to provide additional targeted communication on responsible battery disposal within this area of the city.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the battery campaign, the council has benchmarked the number of incidents that have occurred within council refuse vehicles. The council will continue to monitor trends in-line with current and future campaign launch dates.
The council will also monitor the reach of the campaign via the number of visits to the dedicated ‘Take Charge Glasgow’ webpage and corresponding communication channels.
Photo: David McCulloch is Head of Waste Management at Glasgow City Council © Glasgow City Council
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