Emergency services responded to a bin lorry fire on Lister Road, Atherstone on Friday 20 March 2026, with crews working for two hours to bring the incident under control and ensure public safety.
On the morning of Friday 20 March 2026, emergency services were called to a bin lorry fire on Lister Road, Atherstone. Fire crews responded quickly to bring the situation under control and ensure the safety of the crew and surrounding area.
Over the course of 2 hours, firefighters remained on scene to contain and extinguish the fire.
This incident serves as an important reminder of the dangers posed by incorrectly disposed batteries and electrical items. When placed in general waste, batteries can be crushed inside refuse vehicles, leading to fires, explosions and serious damage. These incidents put the safety of collection crews and the public at risk and can also cause significant disruption and costly damage to essential services.
Bin lorries cost £300,000, making incidents like this both operationally disruptive and financially significant. It costs £1,000 per week to hire a temporary bin lorry whilst the vehicle is replaced or repaired.
When our vehicles are damaged, they must be taken off the road for inspection and repair, and in some cases, the damage can be so severe that the vehicle is written off entirely. This highlights the considerable impact that binning batteries and electricals has on essential public services and the resources required to maintain them.
North Warwickshire Borough Council is urging all residents to take extra care when disposing of batteries and electrical items. These should never be placed in public litter bins, your general waste or recycling bins. Instead, they should be taken to designated collection points, such as local participating shops or Lower House Farm Recycling Centre.
If you are unsure how to dispose of an item, please contact the Council for advice on 01827 715341 or email customerservices@northwarks.gov.uk.
Guidance is also available through the Council’s app, simply search for ‘North Warwickshire Borough Council’ in your app store to find out how to dispose of specific items safely.
Residents are urged to follow these guidelines to help prevent further incidents and to protect the safety of waste collection crews and the wider community.
Councillor Margaret Bell, Chair of Community and Environment Board, said:
“Incidents like this highlight just how dangerous it is to dispose of batteries and electrical items in your general waste. When crushed inside a bin lorry, batteries can easily ignite, putting our collection crews at serious risk and causing significant damage to our vehicles and disruption to our services. We cannot stress enough the importance of using the correct disposal methods. Please take batteries and electricals to designated collection points or your local recycling centre. Small actions from residents make a huge difference in keeping our crews safe and preventing incidents like this from happening again.”