Korea to add 8,000 battery collection bins to cut recycling fires

South Korea's environment ministry said Wednesday it will install 8,000 more collection bins for small waste electronics this year and distribute guidance posters nationwide, to stop batteries from sparking fires in recycling plants. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment will work with E-Circulation Governance, a recycling mutual aid association it authorizes, to place the dedicated bins in areas its survey found to be short of collection points.

Portable fans discarded in standard rubbish bags, or mixed with plastics and vinyl, can be crushed or punctured during recycling and start a fire.

About 55,000 bins for waste electronics have been installed and are being operated by local governments together with E-Circulation Governance as of September. The ministry expanded its producer responsibility recycling system to all product categories in January this year.

An August survey of local governments, running two months, mapped existing installations and gathered new demand. The additional 8,000 bins are to be in place by the end of the year, and their locations will be linked to online maps, including Naver, so residents can find the nearest drop-off point.

The ministry is also distributing separation guide posters for local governments to put up at recycling areas in apartment complexes, and has asked them to print a notice on standard rubbish bags stating that batteries must not be thrown away in them.

For local governments struggling with the work, the ministry plans to compile the results of a competition among municipalities with strong collection records and circulate a best-practices booklet. The competition, sponsored by the ministry and organized by E-Circulation Governance, took applications in June, with judging and selection from July to October and an awards ceremony scheduled for November.

"A carelessly discarded battery can cause a fire at a recycling facility," said Kim Go-eung, director general of the ministry's resource circulation bureau. "To prevent accidents and promote resource circulation, please do not put waste electronics with built-in batteries in standard rubbish bags or plastic recycling bins, and take them to a nearby waste electronics or battery collection bin."