Glen Eira City Council said a recycling truck caught fire due to the incorrect disposal of a vacuum cleaner with a lithium-ion battery on March 10.
The City of Maribyrnong had a rubbish truck damaged in a blaze in Footscray on February 28, less than a month after another garbage truck fire on the same road: Moreland Street.
Daniel Freer, the director of places and spaces at the City of Boroondara Council in Melbourne’s inner east, said lithium-ion batteries were part of the modern world, but posed a challenge for rubbish collectors.
“We’ve seen an increase in the number of fires or ‘hot loads’ over the last few years,” Freer said.
“These fires can be dangerous for our staff, damage our waste trucks, and each fire can cost ratepayers many thousands of dollars.”
Fischer said tipping smouldering rubbish onto a street posed other risks, but could at least be cleaned up and prevented fires from engulfing trucks.
He pointed to…
