Published: 5 July 2023

Eurobodalla Council urges residents to keep batteries out of their bins following a fire at Moruya’s recycling facility last week.

On Thursday 29 June, a smouldering fire was discovered at Cleanaway’s Recycling Transfer Facility at Moruya.

Council’s waste services manager Nathan Ladmore said it was lucky recycling operators were quick to the scene and contacted the fire brigade. He said smoke was seen within the stockpile of the commingled-recycling shed.

“Before flames had the chance to break out, staff quickly separated the smouldering section away from the stockpile and began hosing down,” Mr Ladmore said.

Moruya Fire and Rescue attended the scene, a lithium battery was the cause. Mr Ladmore said the situation could have been much worse.

“It was great work by the recycling facility operators who acted quickly to mitigate a potentially disastrous situation - well done to them,” he said.

“Many modern devices contain lithium batteries which need to be carefully disposed of. Damaged batteries and devices can quickly cause fires and give off toxic smoke and vapours, flames, and metal projectiles.”

Items not to be disposed in domestic waste includes:

• All types of batteries
• BBQ gas bottles
• Fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and fluorescent globes and tubes
• Oil drums, motor and cooking oils.

Batteries can be disposed of for free at a community recycling centre or at Council’s waste management facilities. For convenience, there are also community recycling drop off points at Council’s admin building, Narooma and Batemans Bay libraires.

“We have designated sections at each waste facility for these high-risk items which can also be taken to drop-off points during the household chemical cleanout later this year,” Mr Ladmore said.

Unsure what items go where? Visit Council’s website to download the A-Z guide for waste and recycling.

In other waste news, Council’s annual kerbside hard-waste collection begins on Monday 17 July. To see dates and details, visit the hardwaste webpage.

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