Thoughtless waste disposal sparks near-miss
Irresponsible disposal of waste in kerbside recycling bins has once again caused a near-miss at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at Paget.
Smouldering was reported in the pile at the MRF where the waste is first dropped off by the trucks.
Mayor Greg Williamson said the cause of the spark was a laptop battery.
"This sort of e-waste should never be disposed of in kerbside bins - recycling or general waste," Mayor Williamson said.
"Items such as phones, computers and any sort of batteries can cause sparks in our garbage trucks and at our facilities which can be extremely dangerous," he said.
"We were very lucky this time that the smouldering was detected early before a fire broke out and no damage occurred."
Household, laptop and mobile phone, button cell and power tool batteries can be dropped to Incredable Drop Off at Paget Waste Management Centre or taken to major supermarkets.
Mayor Williamson said residents needed to be aware of what can go in their yellow-lidded recycling bins.
"Only household packaging can be placed in these bins for processing at the MRF," Mayor Williamson said.
"This includes paper and cardboard, milk and juice cartons, glass jars and bottles, aluminium cans and foil scrunched into a ball, steel cans and aerosols and plastics numbered 1-6," he said.
"Anything else needs to go into the general waste bin or taken to the Incredable drop off area for resale or reuse."
Council has an A-Z of Waste Disposal on the website which provides options for all of your waste disposal.