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Leigh On Sea News: Highlighting Bin Dangers – LEIGH MARSHES recycling centre has been used on morning television to highlight the growing problems caused by everyday items being incorrectly thrown away.
Highlighting Bin Dangers - LEIGH MARSHES recycling centre has been used on morning television to highlight the growing problems caused by everyday items being incorrectly thrown away.
LEIGH MARSHES recycling centre has been used on morning television to highlight the growing problems caused by everyday items being incorrectly thrown away.
Dr Adam Read, chief sustainability officer at SUEZ UK, who operate Southend Council’s waste management, was interviewed at the site for Good Morning Britain as new research revealed the ten items causing the biggest problems for the UK’s waste and recycling system.
Vapes containing lithium-ion batteries have been named the most dangerous items routinely discarded, with more than 150 turning up at one recycling site every day. SUEZ said 368 fires were caused by lithium-ion batteries in vapes and other electrical items last year.
Nitrous oxide canisters ranked second, with more than 7,000 explosions recorded at SUEZ’s energy-from-waste facilities during 2025.
Mattresses ranked third, with SUEZ handling 7,500 tonnes of discarded mattresses last year.
The company has also warned that weight-loss jabs could become a growing waste problem, with an estimated 104 million prescribed each year. Used syringes can pose a safety risk to waste workers if disposed of incorrectly.
Speaking on the television programme, Dr Read said: “What we throw away has changed dramatically.
“Five years ago, vapes barely registered as an issue, but today, they’re the most problematic product we deal with.
“For every product bought in shops or online, government need to hold manufacturers to account for designing products with their end of life in mind. The issues we’re currently seeing related to items containing batteries should be a wake-up call.”
SUEZ is calling for manufacturers to take greater responsibility for how products are disposed of at the end of their lives.
The other items on its list include batteries, flexible plastic packaging, nappies, paint and chemicals, food-contaminated recycling, compostable packaging and at-home injections.
Residents can check how to dispose of household waste using the Southend Waste app or the council’s A to Z recycling and waste directory.
Picture: Dr Read at Leigh Marshes HWRC. Pic SCC
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