Auckland Sees 26 Battery Related Fires in Rubbish or Recycling Trucks in Last 18mo
December 6, 2022
PHOTO: Auckland Council/Supplied
Firefighters have put out 26 fires in the last 18 months, thanks to batteries sparking flames in rubbish trucks across Auckland.
Auckland Council says batteries – particularly lithium-ion batteries – put lives at risk if they are put in household rubbish or recycling.
If they are defective, or crushed during the recycling or rubbish process, batteries will start a fire.
In Waimauku near Rodney, a battery met exposed copper wiring from an electric deep fryer and they lit up. Neither belonged in the truck to begin with, council general manager of waste solutions Parul Sood said.