8 Mar 2019

Lithium battery suspected in Thames recycling plant fire

From Morning Report, 6:18 am on 8 March 2019

The owner of a Thames recycling plant gutted by fire for the second time in a year says he suspects a lithium battery sparked the blaze. Twelve firefighting crews were called to the Smart Environmental depot on Paeroa Kopu Road on Thursday afternoon. A fire broke out at the same plant in April last year, destroying a massive pile of unprocessed stockpiled plastic and paper. Smart Environmental managing director Grahame Christian tells reporter Katie Scotcher he believes batteries are increasingly sparking fires at recycling depots.