A fire inside a kerbside collection truck in Kyabram on Thursday morning has prompted a call for correct disposal of flammable items, including vapes and batteries.
Campaspe Shire Council's Director Sustainability, Michael Sharp said it's a timely reminder that there are items that simply cannot go in any of your kerbside bins.
"On Thursday morning, a kerbside collection truck in Kyabram had to drop its contents on Allan Street as they had caught fire in the truck. The CFA promptly attended the scene and extinguished the fire. Thankfully no one was injured and there was no damage to property.
"While the exact cause of the fire is unknown, it was likely caused by several vapes and lead acid batteries found amongst the dumped materials. It's important that residents remember that there are items that cannot be disposed of in any bin and need to be recycled of at one of Council's Resource Recovery Centres," he said.
Council's Waste and Environment team urges residents to dispose of flammable items correctly to keep the wider community safe and warned batteries and vapes are items that can start fires and can't be disposed of in any kerbside bin. These can be recycled for free at any of Council's Resource Recovery Centres.
In fact, e-waste (anything with a cord or battery) should not be disposed of in any of your kerbside bins and is a major cause for kerbside collection truck and other waste facility fires. All e-waste can be disposed of for free at any Resource Recovery Centre.
"Another tip, aerosol cans should be empty before being disposed of in your recycling bin. These are small steps we can take each day to reduce the risk of fires in kerbside bins and dispose of waste correctly.
"Doing all of this will help make sure waste is sorted correctly and prevent future kerbside issues," Mr Sharp said.
