In the past six months, lithium batteries from Hamiltonians' kerbside bins have caused three fires.

On Friday 30 June, a lithium battery caught fire in a Hamilton City Council rubbish collection truck. Smoke was discovered as the truck emptied its contents at the Lincoln Street Resource Recovery Centre.

In May, a square lithium battery caught fire after it had been disposed of at the Lincoln Street Resource Recovery Centre and in February, a lithium battery from a vape ignited inside a Council recycling collection truck.

Recycling and landfill trucks compact the contents as its collected, and the pressure on the highly flammable batteries can cause them to catch fire and even explode.

Tania Hermann, Council’s Sustainable Resource Recovery Unit Director, said these instances are all too common.

“To have three of these incidents this year alone is really concerning,” she said.

“Lithium batteries, or appliances containing them, should never be placed into any of your kerbside bins. We encourage all Hamiltonians to consider the safety of those who drive the collection trucks and sort through the rubbish and recycling, no one wants to be responsible for another person getting injured.”

All batteries, and appliances containing batteries, can be disposed of for free at the Resource Recovery Centre.

Council provides information about safe battery disposal on the Fight the Landfill website. Earlier this year we approached various Hamilton vape stores, encouraging them to display information about the dangers of vapes in kerbside bins, as well as promoting the store’s battery return scheme if it had one.

Lithium is found in batteries from vacuum cleaners and other appliances, laptops, vapes, phones and scooters. AA and AAA batteries leach into soil as they corrode and should also be kept out of kerbside bins.

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