Shocked staff at a Scots recycling found live shotgun cartridges dumped inside a container of household batteries .
Staff at Portlethen Recycling Centre made the shocking discovery on July 23 after a routine check of the container.
Aberdeenshire Council chiefs have now issued a warning as the rounds could have lead to a catastrophic fire.
Bosses said the bullets should only be disposed of by surrendering them to a police station or registered firearms dealer.
Ewan Wallace, Environment and Sustainability Head of Service at Aberdeenshire Council, said: "It was lucky that the site team spotted these so that they could be removed and dealt with safely. This was a potentially dangerous situation.
"Batteries are a known fire risk in our recycling streams and to find live