When you have a cellphone or a power tool battery that is old and doesn’t work, where do you get rid of it? Putting it in the trash can put garbage trucks at risk of catching fire, and it’s a growing problem that’s forcing cities to seek solutions.
One West Valley city is handling the issue.
Monday morning was a bulk-trash collection day in the Sarival Village neighborhood of Goodyear. Some of the items on the curb include old furniture, tree branches and cardboard boxes that could hold anything inside.
“Yeah so we just pretty much watch out for paint, lithium batteries, tires. Just making sure we don’t get none of that in the truck with us,” said Robert Pappas, who collects trash for the city of Goodyear. He drives the truck while his coworker uses a tractor to load large pieces from the curb into the back.
“In this truck, I’m mostly looking at the piles and I pull up kind of inspecting them really quick at a glance of an eye. I mean we don’t always catch it. So I’ll get out and just double check a lot of that stuff because that’s a lot of the problem is the lithium batteries,” he said.
Goodyear tells residents to keep lithium batteries out of the trash.
Pappas says more and more products have those lithium-ion batteries that he has to keep an eye out for.
“Some of the harder stuff to catch is like the newer vacuums like the Dysons, they have rechargeable batteries and people don’t expect that,” Pappas said.
When the truck’s compactor crushes its load, batteries can break and catch fire. And they burn in such a way that water cannot extinguish the flames.
“You just gotta be pretty vigilant,” Pappas said.
Goodyear has started using thermal cameras to monitor garbage truck compartments. The system alerts drivers when something in the bed hits 200 degrees, before a fire can develop.
The thermal cameras (right) alerts the garbage truck driver via the tablet inside their truck when something in their truck bed hits 200 degrees.
These truck fires are growing more frequent.
“It’s not just a localized issue, it’s a national issue that we’re all trying to tackle. A lot of it just has to do with communication and talking through on how to mitigate these things and new methods that may come up,” said Eduardo Rodriguez, a deputy director of public works with the city of Phoenix.
He says workers report garbage truck fires at least once a month.
“In the summer, we see them a lot more. We may get two to three in a month. That’s how frequent it is. In the winter, it kind of calms down a little bit,” Rodriguez said.
A Phoenix garbage truck is on fire.
These fires can happen at transfer stations, landfills and recycling facilities as well. Phoenix uses thermal cameras for detection at some of those places.
Rodriguez says Phoenix has been working with neighboring cities looking for solutions as lithium-ion batteries get into more and more products.
“Your little remote for the car keyless entry, electric toothbrush, vape pens. Pretty much anything you plug in to charge is a lithium-ion battery,” said Chris Aniol, a solid waste supervisor for Goodyear’s Department of Public works.
He says while waste like paint, pool chemicals and charcoal can cause fires, lithium-ion batteries are a major culprit.
The potential for fires is a big reason cities have hazardous waste collection programs. If you live in Phoenix for example, you can schedule a hazardous waste pickup, while Goodyear has designated drop-off days.
Some retailers, like Home Depot or Staples, may also accept old batteries for disposal.
“People are starting to get the message. That’s really the only way to stop it, the camera is just the way to combat it once it happens, but ideally we want it to stop completely,” Aniol said.
When these items end up in the trash and spark a fire, Aniol says truck drivers have a list of safety protocols.
A Goodyear city guide on how to respond to a truck fire.
“They gotta get a hold of the fire department, they get a hold of us. But basically that’s the main goal, get the stuff out of the truck and get it away from where it could hurt anybody or do damage to any houses or buildings or anything like that,” he said.
Drivers like Pappas have to dump the garbage onto the road. Pappas says he prefers to find a cul-de-sac or empty lot to empty the waste and wait until the flames are put out by the fire department.
Pappas says a shovel is needed for the next part, “as soon as it’s out, we have to put it back in.”