Queensland Warns Not to Bin Your Batteries After Over 200 Explosions at Waste Facilities

Queensland’s environment department has warned of the dangers of tossing batteries in the trash, as thousands of fires are reported nationally every year.

A photo shows the aftermath of a battery explosion that damaged a home in New South Wales during April. Courtesy of Fire and Rescue New South Wales

The Queensland Government is warning people not to carelessly dispose of batteries after 202 explosions at waste facilities in the past year.

When batteries are compacted or punctured in waste trucks or at recycling facilities, they can start fires, emit toxic gases, and cause acid burns.

In a statement, Queensland’s government environment department reminded people that all batteries, even standard A and AA type batteries, require special disposal.

“You can find batteries in many everyday household items, including laptops, mobile phones, power tools, items that light up, kids toys, e-scooters and e-bikes, vapes, and cameras, as well as your standard A and AA type batteries,” the statement said.

“There are dedicated battery disposal locations across the state where you can return batteries for safe disposal or recycling.”

People can log onto the Recycle Mate or B-cycle websites and search their postcode to find the nearest disposal locations and drop-off points.

Different batteries and items require different types of disposal, however.

Many major supermarkets offer B-cycle collection points in-store, allowing disposal of standard A and AA type batteries and other easily removable battery types.

Batteries from e-scooters, mobile phones, laptops, TVs or lead acid batteries will usually be taken at free council drop-off points.

Thousands of Battery Fires Annually

Research commissioned by Australian waste and recycling bodies found that there were around 10,000 to 12,000 battery-related fires nationwide each year.

On Boxing Day 2022, the Hume Material Recovery Facility in the ACT was dealt significant damage after a fire broke out.

Subsequent investigations revealed the presence of several batteries in a waste chute, which had caused a thermal runaway—a chain reaction that causes a rapid increase in the heat inside a battery, releasing a burst of energy.

On April 15, fire crews in Lurnea in Sydney’s south-west tended to an explosion and fire at a residential home in a blaze that left a 40-year-old man with lower limb injuries.

A faulty lithium-ion battery used to power a remote-controlled toy car was identified as the source of the blaze, with investigations revealing the fire started due to the battery overheating and causing a thermal runaway.

Firefighters had to place the battery in a basin of water for 24 hours in order to ensure it would not reignite.

Householders are urged to never leave batteries on constant charge, properly dispose of any damaged lithium batteries, not to charge batteries on soft surfaces, not to mix and match components, and to avoid cheap lithium batteries.