An entire load of household recycling will be dumped in landfill after a lithium battery sparked a fire at a Rangiora waste facility.

The fire broke out on Monday afternoon inside one of the large blue recycling pods at Southbrook Resource Recovery Park, which was packed with kerbside recycling awaiting transportation to Christchurch for processing.

Waimakariri District Council said staff acted quickly, emptying the burning contents into the rubbish pit before firefighters arrived to extinguish the flames.

“It could have been much worse if not for everyone’s swift response,” the council said.

The incident has prompted a stern warning to residents about the dangers of disposing of batteries and electronic devices in household bins.

Lithium batteries can become extremely dangerous when crushed or damaged during collection and sorting, potentially overheating, catching fire or leaking hazardous chemicals.

They are commonly found in mobile phones, laptops, power tools, toys, vapes and rechargeable household appliances.

The council is reminding residents that batteries and electronic devices must never be placed in household rubbish or recycling bins.

Instead, household batteries up to the size of those used in hand tools can be taken to Southbrook Resource Recovery Park, Oxford Transfer Station, the battery recycling unit at Kaiapoi Library, or Mitre 10 and Bunnings stores.