Keep batteries out of your bins

Published: 03 Sep 2020 3:52pm

Residents are being urged to think twice before disposing of old batteries in their waste bins.

Gregadoo Waste Management Centre Manager Geoff Pym has stressed the need to properly dispose of all types of batteries while highlighting the potential impact that ignited batteries can have at the waste centre.

“All waste going to landfill is moved, compacted and covered by large, heavy machinery,” Mr Pym said.

“Batteries that are hidden in the waste can be broken open by this process.

“New Li-ion batteries bring the positive and negative plates into contact when they are broken. This creates heating, up to and including ignition.

“We also see car batteries coming through the red lid bins … sometimes gas bottles and other dangerous material.

“We’re really urging people to be mindful of that and to make the effort to dispose of these items in the correct manner because there are repercussions … there is a threat to property damage and also the health and safety of people managing the waste.”

Mr Pym said many recent fires at the landfill sites at Gregadoo have been the result of batteries from laptops or mobile phones being disposed of into the general waste stream.

“We really need the community to be aware of what they are putting in their bins, particularly when it comes to these type of batteries,” Mr Pym said.

“There are a number of ways to dispose of them, so please be mindful of this … with bushfire season fast approaching we do not need the added risk of fires at the centre.”

Council provides a free domestic battery collection facility as part of the CRC at the Civic Centre. The CRC facility at Gregadoo Waste Management Centre also takes automotive batteries for free.

All batteries can be disposed of for reprocessing using Council’s facilities helping to keep batteries out of landfill.

Pictured above:

BATTERY BATTLE: Gregadoo Waste Management Centre Manager Geoff Pym with some of the batteries that have been kept out of landfill thanks to residents using the CRC facility at the centre. Mr Pym urges residents not to put batteries in their waste bins.