Albury City Council is urging the community to take greater care when disposing of batteries, following the third landfill fire this year.
The latest incident occurred last month in an operational area of the Albury Waste Management Centre. Fortunately, no staff were injured, no major infrastructure was damaged and emergency protocols were followed, the Council said in a statement.
Council Assets, Sustainability and Environment Service Leader, Steven Millett said discarded batteries posed a growing risk to waste facilities and frontline staff.
“We’re seeing more fires caused by batteries, often from small items that people don’t realise contain them, such as vapes, electric toothbrushes, toys or remote controls. These fires are dangerous and completely avoidable,” Mr Millett said.
“If damaged, batteries can ignite or explode in trucks or landfill, putting staff and infrastructure at risk and interrupting operations. We ask everyone to use one of the many free battery drop-off points across Albury.”
To help the community do the right thing, unwanted household batteries and battery-powered products can be dropped off at the Albury Recycling Centre, at the Albury Waste Management Centre, or at local drop-off locations listed on the AlburyCity website. Car batteries can also be taken to the Recycling Centre. Before recycling, residents are reminded to tape any exposed terminals or connection points on used batteries to prevent short-circuits.
