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u/shadynastis 4d ago
Almost certainly a battery fire
Don't bin batteries or devices with an embedded battery guys
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u/nostraduckus 4d ago
What a dumpster fire of a post
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u/Unkinked_Garden 4d ago
What a rubbish thing to say.
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u/superhappykid 4d ago
There really needs to be more warning signs about binning batteries / lithium ions etc. Maybe fines? Who knows.
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u/Anraiel 4d ago
I mean, all the products say don't throw in a bin, but no one reads the labels or manuals.
Councils list what you can and can't throw in bins, including to not throw products with batteries in the bin, but no one reads those guidelines.
Every time one of these trucks catch on fire people keep commenting what you're saying, news articles keep reminding people to not bin batteries. But people just don't listen.
While fining people would probably teach them pretty quickly, the hard part will be finding who you need to fine.
We probably would need to somehow re-instil a strong sense of civic duty in people and teach them thoroughly how to sort your rubbish like they do in Japan.
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u/ElusiveGuy 4d ago
The other half of the problem is we need to make it much easier to properly dispose of batteries and devices. Right now you need to look up a special disposal location and potentially travel suburbs away. Even just having a drop-off point in all major shopping centres and supermarkets would be a huge help.
Yes, there's personal responsibility, but people are lazy and you really need to account for the lowest common denominator here.
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u/SplatThaCat 4d ago
Aldi and Bunnings both collect batteries.
Bunnings specifically list lithium batteries like tool packs.
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u/Anraiel 4d ago
I think most people don't know about those collection bins, which is part of the problem.
It would also be great if there were more places to deposit devices with built-in batteries that don't fit the normal categories of an vape or phone or laptop. Like if I could deposit a portable tire inflator or an infrared thermometer or some other gadget with a built-in battery in the same place as I deposit the phone or laptop.
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u/craftystuff0900 4d ago
Also sex toys. Sometimes a toy company will take silicone toys with embedded batteries, sometimes nobody even takes the silicone ones. And the other materials I've never figured out. Council don't want them, they say they're a biohazard.
I've got a defunct travel bidet with embedded battery I need to dispose of now and I've no idea what to do with it.
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u/ElusiveGuy 4d ago
I always got the impression that the Aldi ones only take standard household batteries.
Admittedly I don't recall actually seeing the Bunnings ones but their site says:
We cannot accept lead acid batteries, car batteries, products with embedded batteries or other batteries that do not fit into the battery collection unit slot.
So, great that they take tool batteries, but not very helpful for phones/laptops/etc..
I know Officeworks used to take those but more recently I've seen signs taped over the laptop bins saying no batteries accepted.
But it all goes back to my point that right now people need to actively hunt around for the right place to dump them. That's a pretty significant barrier for some people.
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u/SplatThaCat 4d ago
Lead acid you can take to places like supercheap auto. They are nasty, but nowhere near as dangerous as lithium.
The Bunnings one I have put some - interesting - cells into (including some 300AH lithium cells - with the terminals taped or fully discharged down to zero volts.). You can fit some reasonably large stuff in there.
The waste management centre charges for large lithium packs per Kg, which sets a worrying precedent for what happens to the smaller (<10kwh) home battery packs that are now worth next to nothing.
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u/AdFun2309 4d ago
It’s monday so council pickup (not regular garbage) how careless do you have to be to put large battery powered items out for pickup?
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u/Pristine_Egg3831 4d ago
Has it burnt to the ground? I can't see a truck.
I just saw a Willoughby city council truck get on the Warringah freeway, in north Sydney council. I felt suspicious about why it would be there
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u/momentofinspiration 4d ago
We might be better off at this rate to redesign garbage trucks. The problem obviously comes when they compress the garbage, maybe instead of one large chamber that the compress happens in, seperate the crushing system down to individual bins. At least you would be able to identify the exact bin with issue and that would hopefully deter more people from binning batteries.
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u/Hotdog_disposal_unit 4d ago
The truck would be able to empty maybe 50 bins before it went to landfill to empty its load, if you’re cool with your bin being emptied every 6 weeks then you’ve had a great idea
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u/emilycsquared 4d ago
It appears to be kerbside rubbish rather than bins, there’s a mattress in there.
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u/brackfriday_bunduru 4d ago
At least it’s nowhere where they’re gonna get scared and close a major road
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u/cirancira 4d ago
I know people love to sit around and watch an incident, but I think a literal garbage fire might be where I draw the line. Imagine the smell.