‘Without the extra shredder, our business would be dead’

In 2023, a major fire started by a lithium battery destroyed the main facility at Germany’s Behrendt Recycling. It took ceo Tammo Behrendt 18 months to rebuild operations. The experience led to a complete revision of the company’s fire safety plan.

Tammo Behrendt is the second-generation owner of Behrendt Recycling, a EUR 12 million turnover business in Neumünster in the north of Germany. The company specialises in processing electronic scrap, mostly small appliances and screens, and supplies smelters across the country. Behrendt handles some 30 000 tonnes of e-scrap per year.

Working with electronics means the risk of a fire is ever-present. In 2023, a major fire broke out causing damage valued at EUR 2 million. ‘We are quite sure a battery that was stuck near a magnetic separator started the fire,’ he says. It ignited a conveyor belt, triggering what initially seemed like a manageable incident. ‘It was a small fire at first – not a big one.’

OUT OF HAND

However, the situation escalated due to a series of wrong decisions. Firefighters insisted on handling heavy machinery themselves, despite warnings. ‘We told them we could move it safely with our forklift,’ Behrendt recalls. ‘But they said no – and ended up destroying parts of two buildings because the machine was too powerful.’ Even more critical was what happened next.

After stopping the visible fire, firefighters cut the electricity to the site – unintentionally disabling all fire detection systems. ‘They assumed the system was backed up elsewhere, but it wasn’t.’ Despite thermal imaging showing no danger, Behrendt’s team remained uneasy. ‘Our colleague said, “Can’t you smell it? Something is still burning”.’

Trusting their instincts, employees stayed on site overnight, manually checking the facility. At 2 am, the hidden danger became visible. ‘They turned the lights on and the whole roof was already burning.’

With no active detection systems, the fire had spread unnoticed. By the time firefighters returned, half the building was lost. ‘That was the main fire,’ Behrendt says. ‘At that point, nothing could stop it.’

SAVED BY THE SHREDDER

The financial impact was severe. Insurance covered only half of the EUR 2 million loss. ‘We had to pay EUR 1 million ourselves,’ he explains. The incident also made clear that the buildings were underinsured. ‘We had increased values by 3% every year – but that was far below actual construction costs.’

The company survived only because of a strategic decision made years earlier. ‘We had built a second pre-shredder for different material,’ he says. ‘Without that, we would have lost all our customers; our business would be dead.’

The experience led to a complete rethink of fire prevention. One key change was redesigning the plant layout. ‘We lifted all equipment at least two metres above the ground,’ Behrendt explains, allowing thorough cleaning at the end of every shift.

‘Before that, dust and residues, which are extremely flammable, accumulated under the conveyors. If something starts smouldering in dust, you may not see it and it can ignite hours later. Now that we can clean everything daily, the only thing left that can burn is the rubber belt itself.’

MONITORING SCRAP

Another focus is identifying critical risk points. ‘The biggest danger is where material comes to rest,’ he says. ‘If a hot battery moves along a conveyor, nothing happens. But if it stops, that’s when it can start a fire.’ To address this, the company installed extensive monitoring systems, including infrared cameras and automated water cannons. ‘Every area where material stands still is under surveillance,’ Behrendt explains.

‘If temperatures rise above a certain level, the system triggers an alarm, and water is automatically sprayed at that exact spot.’ The system is already proving its value. ‘We haven’t had a major fire since then but we still deal with burning batteries almost every day, he adds. ‘It is a huge relief to know the system is always watching. Trust me, you sleep much better at night.’

VAPE CHALLENGE

A growing part of the problem is improperly disposed vapes. ‘These disposable e-cigarettes are a big issue,’ Behrendt notes. ‘People throw them away without thinking but they contain lithium batteries which are very hard to detect.’ Like other small battery-powered devices, vapes often slip through sorting processes and increase fire risk.

Despite all the technological improvements, Behrendt is clear there is no simple fix. ‘You cannot stop a big fire once a pile of scrap starts burning,’ he says. ‘The only option is the building as quickly as possible.’

FORKLIFT BECOMES FIRE TRUCK

Speed is everything when a fire starts, as Behrendt has learned from experience. The company trains its employees in firefighting. ‘Our goal is simple: we want to be faster than the fire department.’ That thinking led to a practical innovation. The company developed its own mobile firefighting system: a 1 000-litre water tank with a battery-powered pump, designed to be carried by a forklift.

Behrendt: ‘If there’s a fire somewhere on the yard, you don’t wait. You just call a forklift driver: “bring the water”.’ With forklifts constantly moving around the site, the response is almost immediate. ‘There’s always one nearby,’ the ceo adds. ‘It’s like a fire engine on a forklift – just much faster. You don’t need to start a vehicle, you’re already there. The result is a crucial time advantage in the first minutes of a fire, when it still can be controlled.

MUST-HAVE

In total, the company invested EUR 500 000 in additional fire prevention measures – on top of the EUR 1 million it needed for rebuilding. For Behrendt, this level of spending is no longer optional. ‘There’s no other way to safely treat electronic waste. Those who don’t invest or don’t have the money to make sure their fire prevention system is up to date, simply won’t survive.’

‘THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE JEALOUS’

Behrendt Recycling launched a major package of precaution measures to reduce the risk of fires in the future, focusing on prevention, detection and rapid response. ‘The fire department should be jealous,’ says company owner Tammo Behrendt. Here are his main lessons:

• Eliminate dust build-up and hidden waste
• Remove conveyor pits and inaccessible areas
• Ensure no flammable material accumulates under conveyor belts
• Enable thorough cleaning daily
• Redesign systems so all areas are accessible
• Clean floors and equipment at the end of every shift
• Train staff for fire response
• Ensure strong water availability and a high-performance pressurised water network is available across entire site
• Install numerous wall hydrants and hoses
• Install detection and automatic suppression systems
• Have spark extinguishing systems on filter units (standard in shredding)
• Install ‘hot spot’ detectors above conveyor belts
• Install automated water spray systems targeting critical points
• Install thermal imaging cameras in all areas where material comes to rest (input/output storage)
• Connect to external security services for 24/7 monitoring