Residents urged to watch what they put in their bins

Waverley Borough Council has issued a plea to residents in the borough to make sure they properly dispose of any hazardous waste after an incident involving a bin lorry in the Cranleigh area this week.

Investigations are currently taking place but the issue is thought to have been caused by a resident putting a gas canister or other flammable material in their bin which caused an explosion. As a result of the incident, a crew member suffered injuries, the bin truck was damaged and there were a number of properties in the Cranleigh/Bramley area whose bin collections were delayed.

Councillor Steve Williams, Portfolio Holder for Environment at Waverley Borough Council, said: "Our thoughts are with the crew member affected yesterday who we understand is recovering well. However, we are very lucky this was not far more serious. Our bin contractor is currently looking into what happened but it seems likely that some kind of hazardous material was put out in a resident’s bin.

“Could we please remind residents to be vigilant when disposing of household waste and make sure that items such as batteries, gas canisters or hazardous materials such as liquid paint are disposed of safely and not in their bins. Also, anybody taking advantage of longer, sunnier days to have work done on their home, please make sure that tradespeople take all waste away for correct disposal and they do not leave it in household bins. All of this will help keep our bin crews safe and our bin collections running on time.”

So what can’t go in your general rubbish bins?

• Batteries, especially lithium batteries
• Electrical items, especially large electrical items
• Liquid paint, asbestos and hazardous waste
• Gas Canisters
• Trade Waste

For further information on Bins and Recycling and what you can (and can’t) put in each bin, you can visit our What to Put in Each Bin page