A fire Veolia’s recycling centre off the Old Kent Road was likely caused by a wrongly-disposed lithium battery, the company said.
Veolia issued a warning to Southwark residents to safely dispose of their waste after the fire, to which four fire engines and 25 firefighters were called.
There were no injuries, added the London Fire Brigade – but it said the incident could’ve been worse if a sprinkler system hadn’t been in place… 500kg of recyclable materials were damaged as a result of the fire.
Julie Angulo, General Manager for Veolia Southwark, cautioned of the dangers of wrongly disposing batteries, saying: “No batteries should ever be disposed of in household bins, instead they can be brought to the Household Reuse and Recycling Centre for safe disposal.”
The London Fire Brigade said the incident served as a reminder to businesses of the importance of sprinkler systems, as it helped to suppress the fire.
“As well as limiting fire damage and being potentially life-saving devices, sprinklers and other fire suppression systems help with business continuity by minimising disruption and allowing businesses to get back to normal as soon as possible,” said a service spokesperson.
Find out more about the protection of recycling centres HERE