Residents are encouraged to help keep the community safe by keeping all electronics and chemicals out of their household bins.
It comes after batteries, which were disposed of incorrectly in Cockatoo, caused a fire in one of Cardinia Shire Council’s fire trucks in early December.
The rubbish was collected from Cockatoo before catching fire and needing to be disposed of and smothered at Gembrook Recreation Reserve.
When the truck compacts its load through normal operations, friction and heat can cause items such as electrical goods, batteries, flammable liquids, aerosol and gas cans to catch fire, even if they don’t look flammable.
With the weather heating up and the usual increase in rubbish and recycling over the festive season, it is particularly important to dispose of household items correctly.
The council is encouraging residents to:
Recycle all batteries for free at any drop-off locations. They cannot go in any household bin. This also includes batteries found in vapes. For locations go to bcycle.com.au/drop-off
Recycle e-waste for free at any e-waste drop-off locations, or through the bookable hard waste collection service. E-waste items include TVs, toasters and power tools. These items cannot go in any household bin. For information on how to dispose of e-waste items visit cardinia.vic.gov.au/ewaste
Completely empty aerosol cans before placing them in your recycling bin.
Take all flammable liquids or household chemicals for free to any ‘Detox Your Home’ drop-off site. For more information go to sustainability.vic.gov.au/detoxyourhome
For more information about how you can correctly dispose of common household items, visit cardinia.vic.gov.au/atozwasteguide
