A huge number of fires across Australia are caused by batteries being thrown into household bins each year, leading to fires in waste trucks and recycling facilities, creating costly clean-ups, delaying waste collection, and posing a danger to the environment.
WA alone recorded 81 lithium-ion related fires in 2022 and it’s estimated there are about three fires every week in Australian waste and recycling collection trucks caused by people binning batteries – and these numbers are only increasing.
The City of Subiaco experienced three battery related fires in its waste trucks this year, with waste staff now being trained how to notice any signs of a fire in the collection trucks and a process being developed for them to follow should this occur.
Any battery that holds a charge (including small AA, AAA and button batteries) can spark and cause a fire, especially when crushed inside a collection waste truck where they can self-ignite and cause explosive fires.
With Christmas around the corner, now is the perfect time to think about how you dispose of battery-containing-items as new fairy lights, toys and electronics replace the old.
Mayor David McMullen said simple steps – such as removing batteries from toys before throwing them away or disposing of old mobiles properly – could help avoid these issues.
“Binning a battery in your household general or recycling bin is a huge fire hazard and puts lives in danger,” he said.
“It also means you’re adding toxic waste to landfill and making batteries unavailable to be recycled; this means more precious resources like lithium, cobalt and manganese need to be mined.
“It might seem like an inconvenience but, at the end of the day, there are a huge number of free and local drop-off points that make doing the right thing very easy and straightforward.”
Many technology stores now accept old devices such as mobile phones, and the City contains a number of dedicated drop-off points for batteries, including West Metro Recycling Centre, Return-It Shenton Park, Bunnings Warehouse Homebase, Woolworths Subiaco Square and Officeworks Subiaco.
You can view all drop-off points on the
B Cycle or
Recycle Right websites.
Remember, if you had to charge it, it’s got a battery!
Pictured: the mobile phone that was thrown away and caused the City’s latest waste truck fire
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