BALLINA Shire Council has joined a new trial to help combat fires, dangerous hazards and emergency services call outs to its recycling centre.<\/p>\n
Damaged batteries, chemicals and other hazardous materials have caused regular flare-ups at the Ballina Resource Recovery Centre.<\/p>\n
It was a timely start to the trial following a fire at the centre a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n
The facility was temporarily closed while firefighters brought the fire under control and assessed the scene.<\/p>\n
Multiple hazardous items including batteries, gas bottles, chemicals, fuel, and aerosols were found in the pile.<\/p>\n
All of the items have a designated safe drop-off location, which should be used to prevent such incidents.<\/p>\n
As part of the trial, the centre is now accepting household embedded battery products free of charge.<\/p>\n
Embedded batteries are small batteries which are built into products and cannot be removed.<\/p>\n
They are often found in household items such as vapes, electric toothbrushes, e-bikes, smart watches, portable speakers, vacuums, light up toys, and more.<\/p>\n
The batteries are challenging for the waste management sector.<\/p>\n
They are made of materials, including lithium-ion, that are difficult to recycle and a significant fire hazard risk.<\/p>\n
Ballina council resource recovery education officer Justine Rowe said the initiative will make it easier for the community to identify the risks and plan for safer disposals.<\/p>\n
“This trial is a welcome initiative to make it easier for people to do the right thing with embedded batteries, protecting our local community and environment by reducing the number of embedded-battery products that are mistakenly disposed of in kerbside bins,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Through the trial, we hope Ballina residents will learn more about embedded-battery products \u2013 including how to identify them, the types of risks they pose, why correct disposal is so important, and how they can dispose of them safely.”<\/p>\n
The recycling centre has dedicated bins now on site to collect embedded battery products.<\/p>\n
E-waste that may contain embedded batteries, including laptops, gaming controllers and tablets, should still be directed to council’s free e-waste collection service also at the centre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BALLINA Shire Council has joined a new trial to help combat fires, dangerous hazards and emergency services call outs to its recycling centre. Damaged batteries, chemicals and other hazardous materials have caused regular flare-ups at the Ballina Resource Recovery Centre. It was a timely start to the trial following a fire at the centre a […]<\/p>\n