By Dongyun Kwon
Local firefighters were called out to a rubbish truck fire, triggering a reminder about the importance of disposing of batteries and e-waste correctly.
The original call came from near Lilydale Road and Healesville Kinglake Road in Healesville at 6.30am on Tuesday 25 February.
The truck driver was able to park in the open area at the Healesville Railway Station car park.
Healesville CFA First Lieutenant Zac Lockwood said there was something in the back of the truck which had caused a build up of heat and smoke.
“Once we got there, the truck was unloaded so that we could douse the contents with water,” he said.
“Then the council came out with an excavator to spread the pile apart so we could fully extinguish and cool everything.
“At this stage, I cannot confirm whether e-waste or batteries caused the fire, but I’d like to reinforce to everyone to be aware not to put batteries and e-waste in their rubbish bins and to make sure they dispose of them correctly.”
An Australian Competition and Consumer Commission survey identified over a third of Australians (39 per cent) didn’t know how to correctly dispose of lithium-based batteries or consumer electronics.
Australian Council of Recycling chief executive officer Suzanne Toumbourou said the safety message is urgent given the battery fire risk is increasing, with over 10,000 battery-related fires a year across Australia’s waste and recycling systems.
“Our sector is seeing an increasing number of discarded batteries and consumer electronics wrongly placed in conventional household and commercial bins, instead of being safely disposed of in designated battery or e-waste collection points,” she said.
“These items cause fires throughout waste and recycling systems, including in bins, trucks, transfer stations and recycling facilities – posing a serious threat to the safety of our workers and jeopardising critical recycling infrastructure.
“We call on governments across Australia to significantly boost community education on how to correctly dispose of consumer electronics; and urge the public to always check and ensure they’re doing the right thing to protect waste and recycling workers, emergency services and the wider community.”
Lithium-based batteries should be topped and tailed with clear sticky tape and taken to a local council resource recovery centre, a participating hardware or grocery store with a battery recycling program including Coles, Aldi and Bunnings.
Commercial waste and recycling services will pick up or receive businesses’ discarded batteries and electronic products for a fee.
The Coldstream Transfer Station accepts e-waste for the Yarra Valley.
