Georgia Recycling Center Blames Local Battery Business for Destructive Fire

Last month a fire destroyed a Banks County, Ga. recycling center, now the owner says a battery was the cause of the blaze that destroyed his business.

Metro Site, the recycling center, accepted industrial waste for recycling, such as paper, plastic, and metals. The site was not permitted to accept hazardous waste such as lithium-ion batteries. The type of batteries that is manufactured at SK’s sprawling Commerce plant, located just three miles away.

According to Scott Ledford, owner of the recycling center, an SK battery was the cause of the destructive fire.

"When I pulled out on the main road, I could see the fire from about 10 miles from here," Ledford told the FOX 5 I-Team.

Ledford explains that when he arrived at the site, the fire had spread from a section of material delivered by SK Battery. Even with the local fire department situated next door, the fire could not be stopped from spreading through the building.

The fire was finally extinguished four days later after 3 million gallons of water.

"There were batteries in there and that would explain the amount of heat that we had involved," explained Banks County Fire Chief Steve Nichols.

Metro Site filed a lawsuit against SK Battery on July 30 after workers discovered two lithium-ion batteries near the start of the fire. However, this wasn’t the first time. SK Battery America has been caught illegally dumping batteries six other times during deliveries of recycling materials.

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