Flammable Five campaign targets catastrophic fires
Tasmanian waste operators have joined forces to warn householders that a single flammable item in the wheelie bin can destroy a truck, shut down a waste facility and put workers' lives at risk.
The Flammable Five campaign targets the five most dangerous items turning up in household bins: batteries, electronic and rechargeable waste, gas bottles, flares and vapes.
Southern Waste Solutions CEO Nick Gifford said the risk of fires at waste facilities and in collection trucks had become a daily concern in Tasmania.
"Our crews are pulling flammable items out of household rubbish every day – old phones, power tool batteries, even gas cylinders," Mr Gifford said.
"If an excavator crushes or pierces a battery, it can explode instantly, putting our workers, our equipment and our infrastructure at serious risk."
Every year, an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 battery-related fires occur in Australia’s waste and recycling system.
The average home contains more than 30 lithium-ion batteries in everything from laptops, garden tools to electric toothbrushes.
Veolia Strategic Development Manager Tasmania, Martin Robinson, said truck fires were a serious and growing source of anxiety for drivers.
“When a fire starts in the back of a truck our drivers face an impossible choice ― to put their lives at risk and keep driving until they get to a safe place to unload or immediately dispose of a smouldering load to prevent a dangerous fire from getting out of hand,” Mr Robinson said.
Dulverton Waste Management CEO Veronica Schilling said vapes had become one of the fastest-growing causes of waste fires.
“The problem with vapes is they are so small, it is often impossible to detect them until it is too late.
"We're asking Tasmanians to stop and think before anything goes in the wheelie bin. If it holds a charge, holds gas or holds a spark, it doesn't belong in the bin.
“In the first hour of running our brand-new organics facility we had a rechargeable battery go through the shredder and catch fire. We were lucky not to see $35 million go up in smoke that day.”
There is a range of resources available to find your nearest collection point for the Flammable Five. The best sources of information have been collated at www.rethinkwaste.com.au/flammable-5
The Flammable Five campaign is a joint initiative of Dulverton Waste Management, Southern Waste Solutions, Veolia, Cleanaway and the City of Hobart, supported by funding from the Waste and Resource Recovery Board.
TasWaste South and the other regional bodies are supporting the Flammable Five campaign through ReThink Tasmania.