'Who in their right mind would do that?': Dornoch community councillor's anger after disposable barbeque tossed in recycling bin causes fire
A Dornoch community councillor has condemned the actions of an unknown person who caused a community recycling bin at the town’s beach car park to go on fire after putting a disposable barbeque into it.
Firefighters had to be called out to extinguish the fierce blaze which happened earlier this month.
Speaking at the community council’s meeting last night, treasurer Jerry Bishop said: “Someone had put a used barbeque - a takeaway barbeque- in the recycling bin, and it was obviously still hot.
“The barbeque then ignited material in the recycling bin.”
He continued: “You try and get people to do the right thing. Who in their right mind would do that?”
Disposable barbeques are coming under increasing scrutiny by the UK Government with concern over their impact on the environment and wildlife as well as fire risk.
Waitrose and Aldi decided in March to stop selling BBQs.
Environment Minister Victoria Prentis recently said Home Office data showed that “about four per cent of accidental primary fires can be robustly linked to barbeque use".
She said: "Disposable barbecues, if used correctly, do not, in themselves, pose a wildfire risk.
"It is when they are left unattended, or used recklessly, that the risk occurs. It is clear to me that we do not have enough data on the role that disposable barbecues play in wildfire incidents.
"However, anecdotal evidence suggests that they have been responsible for a number of serious incidents."
