As temperatures drop across the Snowy Monaro and fireplaces across the region are roaring back to life, Council is reminding our residents of the importance of handling wood-fire ashes carefully.
This reminder comes just weeks after a local household's bin suddenly caught alight due to ashes that had been binned before they had completely cooled.
To avoid fires at home, in the waste collection truck, and at local waste facilities, it's vital that everyone with a wood-burning fire in our region knows how to handle their ashes safely and responsibly.
Ashes will remain hot enough to reignite and cause other flammable materials to combust for several days – much longer than many people would expect. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure that the ashes from their winter fires have cooled completely, and are wrapped and disposed of in kerbside waste bins.
Damage caused to bins by hot ashes can be costly. If you burn your bin down, you'll need to pay for a replacement and all ratepayers foot the bill when our trucks or facilities are damaged by fire.
Avoid bin, house, and truck fires. Always:
- Put hot ash in a suitable metal container with a lid
- Only half-fill your ash containers, allowing them to cool efficiently
- Make sure the lid is secure to starve smouldering ashes of oxygen and prevent sparks and embers escaping
- Regularly check and stir the ash container, adding water over the course of a few days to ensure any fire is fully extinguished
- Do not empty the ash container into the bin until 100% sure the ashes are cold
- Put your cold ashes in a bag before disposing of them into your red-lidded waste bin, or lime-green lidded FOGO bin for Cooma residents
Hot ash in household rubbish bins causes numerous house fires across Australia every year and in 2019, caused a large fire in the back of one of Council's waste collection trucks. This incident was thankfully brought under control quickly, but the cost of repairs and the delay to bin collections were both substantial.
Wood ash contains a large amount of lime and potassium and can be used as a nutrient booster for compost and soil. If you're using ash in your garden, remember to be cautious and do your research. Wood ash affects soil and compost alkalinity, which can cause negative effects if used inappropriately.
