And a fresh plea for people not to throw such devices – and batteries – in with their rubbish has been made, after a bin lorry caught fire in Norwich.

The partial ban on electrical items has been in place at Norfolk’s recycling centres after Wiser Recycling at Thetford, which Norfolk County Council used to process many of the electrical items people take to tips, was hit by a major fire last month.

The fire ripped through Wiser Recycling in Thetford (Image: Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service)

The company has now stopped operating from its Thetford site, after it lost its treatment facility approval.

And that has left County Hall with no legal way to deal with much of the electrical waste which people take to its 19 recycling centres.

With the company not likely to reopen, the council has had to apply to a national scheme to be appointed with a new contractor – and has to wait for that process to conclude.

In the meantime, recycling centres can still accept washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers and cookers.

But other electrical items, such as microwaves, televisions or monitors, fridge freezers, laptops, batteries, mobile phones, printer cartridges, light bulbs and other small electrical items, cannot be accepted.

A spokeswoman for Norfolk County Council said: “We know this is inconvenient and we’re sorry for the continued disruption.

“We are working closely with national regulators to put a safe and legal solution in place so we can bring the service back as quickly as possible.”

A particular plea has been issued for people not to fly-tip such items or to put electrical items in with normal rubbish, as those can spark fires.

A Norwich City Council bin lorry caught fire after a power bank with a battery were thrown away (Image: Norwich City Council)

On Monday last week, one of Norwich City Council’s bin lorries caught fire in Gertrude Road, after a power bank containing a lithium battery was thrown away and triggered a blaze.

A County Hall spokesman said: “In the meantime, we remind residents to never place electrical items or batteries in household waste bins, as this poses a serious fire risk.

“People are asked to safely store unwanted electrical items at home until services resume.”