28 tonnes of batteries found in Latvia’s household waste in 2025

More than 28 tonnes of batteries were sorted out of household waste at waste-sorting centres in the Central Latvia region in 2025, according to data compiled by Getliņi, a regional waste management centre, LSM reported.

Batteries may contain heavy metals and chemicals including lead, mercury, cadmium, nickel, lithium, cobalt and manganese. If they are handled incorrectly and end up in the environment with household waste, some of these substances can seriously harm ecosystems and human health.

Properly disposing of batteries reduces the risks of pollution and fires and allows the raw materials they contain to be recycled and reused.

“The data on the amount of batteries sorted out of household waste paints a worrying picture,” said Sniedze Sproģe, head of the Getliņi regional waste management centre. She said the figures showed that residents still did not fully understand the impact of the chemicals and metals in batteries on the environment.

Sproģe added that although almost 90 percent of residents say in various surveys that they sort their waste in everyday life, the actual situation was less positive. The 28 tonnes of batteries found in household waste represented a considerable volume, she said.

Batteries and devices containing lithium can also cause fires if they enter the unsorted household waste stream. During waste management, batteries can be crushed, deformed or otherwise damaged, causing a short circuit and potentially igniting them.

Lithium-ion batteries are particularly dangerous because damage can trigger an uncontrolled thermal reaction. Waste-sorting and transfer facilities contain large amounts of flammable materials, meaning even a small ignition source can start a larger fire, disrupt waste management operations or temporarily bring them to a halt.

For this reason, sorting batteries at home is especially important.