Every other business in the chain is trying to keep lithium-ion batteries out of their waste stream. E-waste processors and battery recyclers do the opposite — they gather them, by design, in volume, and often in unknown or damaged condition. That concentration is the whole business, and it is also the whole fire risk. Managing it well is what separates a compliant, insurable operation from an uninsurable one.

Australia is on the same trajectory. Fire and Rescue NSW recorded 332 lithium-ion battery incidents in 2025, and in the opening months of 2026 alone there were at least 12 fires in garbage trucks, waste facilities and tips, with a further 103 waste-industry fires suspected to involve batteries (NSW Government, 2026). In the US, the EPA has documented battery fires destroying entire facilities and forcing operators to stop collecting batteries altogether (US EPA, 2021).

The high-risk points for a battery handler

• Intake and triage — unknown chemistries and states of charge arriving together, some already damaged or swollen.
• Dense storage and stockpiles — where one cell in thermal runaway can propagate through everything around it.
• Processing — dismantling, shredding and any hot work near cells.
• Transport — movement and vibration of collected packs between sites.

Storage and handling: the controls that matter

US workplace guidance sets out the core hierarchy: store in cool, dry locations, isolate hazardous materials, limit the quantity held, follow manufacturer instructions, and build battery-failure response into a written emergency action plan with trained staff (OSHA, n.d.). For a recycler, translate that into practice:

• Segregate by state and chemistry. Keep damaged and swollen packs apart from sound stock, and separate lithium chemistries from the rest.
• Quarantine damaged cells immediately in a non-combustible, distanced location — containment bags for individual suspect packs, with clearance around bulk storage.
• Cap stockpile size and add spacing or compartmentation so a single event can’t run the length of the store.
• Certified processing. In NSW, recyclers in the incoming stewardship scheme will need to meet the Australian Standard AS/NZS 5377:2022 for managing electrical and electronic equipment for re-use or recycling (NSW EPA, 2026).

Detection and response

Thermal monitoring over intake and storage buys warning time; trained staff who know the signs — heat, swelling, hissing, odd smell — turn that warning into action. Back it with equipment positioned where the risk is: lithium-ion extinguishers at intake and processing for early knockdown, and large-format fire blankets to contain a burning bin, pallet or machine while crews respond. Past a developed stockpile fire, the plan is evacuate and call 000 — not fight it.

Concentrating the hazard is the business; controlling it is the licence to operate. We supply extinguishers, blankets and containment for waste and e-waste operators and can assess a site with you — see the waste & recycling page or talk to us.