Knox Council recently dealt with an unwanted fire emergency on Tuesday 27 February and luckily the fire was put out quickly with no injuries to facility staff.
A recycling truck and a Knox recycling facility caught fire and the cause was likely from a battery or gas bottle being put in a household bin.
Knox Mayor, Cr Jude Dwight said that the council has unfortunately has had several avoidable fires most likely caused by batteries or gas bottles, including the one in the recycling truck and recycling facility in February.
“Fortunately, no one has been injured and there have been no major impacts to our services due to tight safety processes in place,” she said.
Thanks to quick action from the contractors, the fires were put out quickly, but the fire serves as a reminder to community.
“It serves as a timely reminder for residents to please be mindful not to place hazardous contaminants such as batteries, partially full aerosol cans and household chemicals in their residential bins,” Cr Dwight said.
“Discarded batteries are the leading cause of fires in our rubbish and recycling trucks,” she said.
The council has produced an A – Z rubbish and recycling guide for residents, which includes numerous local drop-off points for the safe disposal of household items, which is available on their website at www.knox.vic.gov.au/WasteGuide
Many items can not be thrown into regular rubbish and this includes:
All kinds of batteries – household batteries, car, phone, laptop, power tool, camera and lithium ion batteries
Aerosol cans that are not empty
Household chemicals
Accelerants e.g. petrol, diesel, waste oils
Gas bottles or butane cans
Flares, ammunition
Hot coals or lit cigarettes
A representative from CFA said that people must never throw lithium-ion batteries in their regular waste or recycling collection bins.
“Many battery-related fires start in household bins, garbage trucks and waste facilities,” they said.
Victorians can learn more about lithium-ion batteries and how to safely use these products online at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/batterysafety and www.frv.vic.gov.au/battery-safety.
It is also important to remember to take out any batteries from old items before putting out hard rubbish or recycling.
People can also can drop off their batteries at these convenient locations:
Coles
Woolworths
Aldi
Officeworks
Bunnings
