Georges River Council contractors were forced to empty a load of recycling at the Olds Park carpark on 8 November when the waste collection vehicle driver was alerted to a hot load, that is, rising temperature within the load of recycling contained within the compactor vehicle.
Smoke was coming from the compactor at the rear of the truck with Fire and Rescue NSW attending to safely extinguish the smouldering load of recycling. The most likely cause of the fire hazard was incorrectly discarded batteries.
This incident provides an important reminder to all residents that batteries must never be placed in the red-lidded general waste bins, yellow-lidded recycling bins or green-lidded garden organics bins as they can cause a fire.
Residents can safely recycle all household batteries, free of charge, at the recycling stations in the customer service area of the Hurstville Civic Centre (Corner MacMahon and Dora Streets Hurstville), Hurstville Library (corner of Dora and Queen Streets Hurstville) or the Clive James Library (Kogarah Town Square, Belgrave Street Kogarah). Free household battery recycling services are also available at most local supermarkets.
There are several options available to safely recycle car batteries, such as at a local vehicle mechanic workshop or by locating a battery recycler at: Find-a-Recycler. Car batteries are accepted free of charge at Council's Household Chemical Cleanout events. The next event is Sunday, 11 December at Council's Carlton Depot, 78 Planthurst Road. Residents can register to attend at: Chemical Clean Out and bring along other materials that can't be placed in residential bins including paints, motor oils, fire extinguishers, gas bottles, pool chemicals, fluorescent tubes, and poisons.
Georges River Council Mayor, Nick Katris, said, "I urge all residents to be responsible when it comes to waste disposal. Please take the time to learn about what goes in which bin and recycle when possible. Separating general waste from recycling properly is a safety issue. Batteries must never be placed in residential bins where they risk starting a fire and pose safety risks for the community and waste collection staff."
To learn more about what goes in your bins, please visit: What Goes in My Bin.
