Lithium battery risk: Hamilton City Council concerned after third fire in six months

This truck caught fire in Melville in February after a vape battery was wrongly put in a recycling bin. Photo / Supplied

Lithium batteries thrown out in kerbside collection bins have caused three fires in Hamilton during the past six months.

On June 30, a battery fire was discovered in a Hamilton City Council rubbish truck as it 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 resource recovery centre and in February, a lithium battery from a vape ignited inside a council recycling collection truck.

The city council says recycling and landfill trucks compact the contents as they are collected, and the pressure on the highly flammable batteries can cause them to catch fire or even explode.

The council’s sustainable resource recovery unit director, Tania Hermann, said: “To have three of these incidents this year alone is really concerning.

“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 free at the resource recovery centre.

Council provides information about safe battery disposal on the Fight the Landfill website.

Earlier this year the council approached 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 the soil as they corrode and should also be kept out of kerbside bins.