Xbox consoles, batteries set rubbish trucks on fire

Wednesday, 24 October 2018

Fallout from an exploding Xbox and batteries, both starting fires in rubbish trucks in Auckland in recent months.

An Xbox console exploded in a recycling truck in rural north Auckland this month, starting a fire and prompting Auckland Council to strike back.

Auckland Council warns Xbox consoles and batteries can't be recycled and shouldn't be put in kerbside recycling bins.

'While recycling a product, someone may think they're doing the right thing. In actual fact, the item can cause a fire in the back of a truck, putting the lives of the truck driver and others at risk,' Auckland Council waste solutions general manager Parul Sood said.

'A key message to people is to be aware of what goes into your recycling bin. It's important to keep recycled items clean because people who work at the plants need to sift through materials, and a dirty or hazardous item is a huge health and safety risk to them.'

An Xbox exploded in a recycling truck in Wellsford on October 17 and was subsequently put out.

* Wishful thinking about what can be recycled is an expensive mistake

* Kiwis prefer PlayStation to Xbox**

In June a battery set a recycling truck alight in Waitākere.

In the most recent instance, involving the lithium battery inside the Xbox console, no-one was injured, as the truck driver followed health and safety procedures and the fire was properly extinguished, Sood said. However, an explosion like this taking place in a rural location could be life-threatening and dangerous.

It was just one of six fires in the past 18 months in north Auckland rubbish and recycling trucks, due to hazardous items being put in kerbside recycling bins.

Auckland Council waste solutions general manager Parul Sood says batteries and gaming consoles should never put in your kerbside recycling bin.

'Six fires in 18 months is not a good statistic but it does show people are simply not aware of how to recycle properly and we're running a campaign about this,' Sood said.

'We [the council] call this 'wish recycling'. People simply wish that what they're putting in can in fact be recycled, like toys, clothing, nappies and we've even had a whole toilet put in a kerbside recycling bin.'

Students from Kristin School in Albany saved 1200 batteries from reaching landfill sending them to Abilities in Wairau Valley for recycling.

An incident in Coatesville in September shows the contents of the recycling truck after a fire has been extinguished.

Sood said the council is also exploring 'product stewardship' programmes, where manufacturers - like Microsoft Xbox and Sony Playstation - take ownership back, and recycle their products.

'The first port of call is to think who could re-use a product like this and give it to a friend or family, charity, inorganic waste collection or e-waste collection point. But please don't simply put these items in your kerbside recycling bin,' Sood said.

'With Christmas coming up, we'll likely see an increase in packaging and waste, and people throwing out presents they don't want.'

PlayStation 4 console sales reached almost 73.6 million globally in 2017.

Auckland Council recently rolled out a new Recycle Right game to help people put the right items in their kerbside bin www.recycleright.co.nz. Similar to Tinder you need to swipe right or left when answering questions about what should be recycled, with 20,000 people playing the game so far.

Students from Kristin School in Albany saved 1200 batteries from reaching landfill, collecting them from their community and sending them to Abilities in Wairau Valley for recycling. Abilities Group employs people with disabilities who specialise in e-waste recycling. In total students collected 1354 batteries weighing 32 kilograms.