By WMBD TV
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — A recent fire in a Bloomington recycling truck has city officials reminding people to remove and properly dispose of batteries before throwing them out.
The fire was the result of an electric lawn mower being placed in a recycling cart with the lithium-ion battery still on board. Once the mower was collected in the truck, it ignited, according to a news release from the city.
The fire inside the truck melted the mower and other nearby items. The driver of the recycling truck is credited with catching the fire quickly and taking appropriate action to put it out before it spread.
“This incident could have been much worse,” said Public Works Director Mose Rickey.
“Fortunately, our driver recognized the situation quickly and was able to act immediately. We want residents to understand that batteries should never go in the trash or recycling, especially when they’re still attached to equipment,” he said.
The best way to prevent the issue, he said, is to remove the batteries from the equipment when possible and take them to a battery collection site for disposal.
Battery drop-off locations:
- Interstate Battery – rechargeable, household single-use, damaged or defective, high-energy and medium-format batteries, and cell phone batteries
- Echo Electric – alkaline, lithium, and lithium-ion batteries
- Lowe’s – household single-use alkaline, rechargeable lithium-ion, medium-format, and high-energy batteries
- Home Depot – rechargeable and single-use batteries
Bloomington/Normal residents can find other battery recycling drop-off locations and more information about them at RecycleBN.org or the Recycle Coach app.
WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.
