Keep batteries out of your carts

The City of Lethbridge’s Waste and Environment department is reminding residents to keep batteries out of the waste collection carts following two recent incidents.

In the past week, there have been two separate incidents involving fires being ignited in collection trucks due to the improper disposal of lithium-ion batteries. Fortunately, there were no injuries and minimal damage to equipment.

Batteries, including devices that contain batteries such as mobile phones, laptops and tablets, are not accepted in the garbage, recycling or organics carts. When improperly disposed, batteries can get crushed by equipment or come into contact with metal. This can lead to fires in collection trucks, the material recovery (recycling) facility, or organics processing facility at the Waste and Recycling Centre.

Batteries and electronic items can be dropped off at the Waste & Recycling Centre’s electronics collection area, where they are handled safely and collected for recycling. Several retailers around the city also accept used and unwanted electronics. The City suggests calling ahead to confirm with the retailers to confirm they’re accepting these items before arriving with your unwanted electronics.  

Storage and disposal of household batteries is important to ensure the risk of fire stays low. Store batteries at room temperature and away from direct sunlight, heating equipment, or anything that can catch fire. When collecting lithium-ion batteries for recycling, place a piece of tape over the positive (+) terminal end to prevent it coming into contact with metal or other batteries.

For Public Inquiries:

Call 311 | Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.