Residents are being urged to keep their community safe by not putting batteries or e-waste in their household bins.
E-waste is any item with a battery, cord or plug at the end of its useful life. This includes household batteries, battery-operated toys, vapes and e-cigarettes, devices, and appliances.
Cardinia Shire Mayor Jack Kowarzik has seen an alarming increase in waste and recycling truck fires.
“In 2022, Cardinia Shire didn’t have a single fire in its waste and recycling trucks. This increased to four truck fires in 2023,” he said.
“In just the first few months of this year, there have been three truck fires and one recycling facility fire.
“These fires are extremely dangerous and put truck drivers, staff and the community at risk, as well as taking valuable resources from the fire authorities to put them out.
“The fires are usually caused by batteries and e-waste being put in household bins.”
E-waste has been banned from Victorian landfill since 2019, which means it cannot go in any household bins.
Residents can correctly dispose of their e-waste for free by:
Booking a hard waste collection
Taking small household items such as batteries, laptops and mobile phones to any council drop-off locations, major supermarkets, or Officeworks. For drop-off locations, go to cardinia.vic.gov.au/ewaste
Dropping items off at a local transfer station. For a list of local facilities, visit cardinia.vic.gov.au/transferstations
For more information visit cardinia.vic.gov.au/ewaste
For more information about how to correctly dispose of other common household items, visit cardinia.vic.gov.au/atozwasteguide
