Fires are mostly occurring in garbage trucks, but they've also been found in trucks collecting recycling. Of particular concern are lithium batteries. These are common and found in various devices including vapes, e-bikes, e-scooters and other light electric vehicles. These batteries are light-weight and long-lasting but can be more volatile than traditional batteries.
Under pressure and heat, all batteries can explode and cause injury. No type of battery should ever be placed in your kerbside bins or any public place bin.
On top of being highly dangerous, disposing of batteries in garbage bins means that finite metals like lithium are lost. If batteries end up in landfill, the lithium can no longer be recycled into new batteries needed to power electric vehicles, among other devices.
[H2] Disposing of batteries safely
Residents can safely dispose of batteries and items containing batteries as follows:
- Drop them off at our Resource Recovery Centre - we accept car batteries too.
- Drop smaller batteries off at supermarkets or other outlets participating in the B-cycle recycling program.
- Drop vapes off at St Kilda Town Hall during business hours - they will be recycled by a specialty recycler.
