Nine Auckland Council rubbish and recycling trucks have caught fire so far this year — caused by people putting dangerous items in their rubbish. So, what can you safely put in your bins? Seven Sharp reporter Mary-Jane Aggett investigates.
Auckland Council is launching a campaign to remind people what can and can’t be put in household bins.
To get a sense of what the campaign is about, Seven Sharp was invited to film behind the scenes and witness just how dangerous a fire in a wheelie bin can be (you can see the results in the video above).
The smell of burning plastic filled the air as a pile of rubbish popped and crackled in the foreground. It was after hours at a West Auckland rubbish tip, and this one was a controlled fire — but they’re not always controlled.
Parul Sood is in charge of waste solutions for the council and said people don’t realise that what they’re putting in their rubbish can be dangerous.
“People are putting items that can ignite a fire in their rubbish or recycling bin,” she said. “When that goes into a truck and it compacts, it causes a fire because it’s in your recycling. What do you have [in recycling]? Plastic and cardboard — all the materials that can catch fire real quick.”
This is a huge hazard for rubbish truck drivers, who are taught what to do if the worst should happen.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) risk reduction and investigations manager Pete Gallagher said there were more and more fires involving rubbish, “which is just a drain on our resources”.
The big “no-no” is putting lithium batteries in the bin.
“They [lithium batteries] are the modern power sources that are found in our homes and things like cellular phones, children’s toys, power tools.”
Even when lithium batteries no longer work and have lost their energy, they retain a huge amount of energy — so they need to be disposed of correctly.
Other items not to put in your household bin include car batteries, electric scooters, jump-start packs, aerosols and gas bottles.
“On a national scale, we are seeing an increase in the amount of fires involving rubbish trucks, and we attribute that to the disposal of lithium batteries. We’re seeing an increase in the bottom of the South and the top of the North Island,” said Gallagher.
Sood said rubbish truck fires were a massive health and safety risk.
“Imagine driving a truck and realising something has ignited in it — it’s not a very comfortable space to be in.”
The campaign by Auckland Council and FENZ will launch at the end of the month.