LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — More than 5,000 fires are reported by waste and recycling centers across the U.S. each year.
Lincoln saw two just this week, both caused by discarded disposal vapes.
“Ever since the disposable battery vapes came out, it caused a large problem for us haulers and also processors,” said Melissa Littrell, director of organics and sustainability for Uribe Refuse.
These disposable vapes are single-use electronic cigarettes containing nicotine and a lithium battery.
When discarded with regular trash, those batteries can leak a flammable substance once crushed.
Littrell added that can cause fires in garbage trucks and processing facilities.
The trucks at Uribe Refuse do not contain fire alarms, and many drivers are only alerted to a truck fire when they see smoke.
If they are too far from the facility, they have to pull over to a safe place like an empty parking lot, locate the problem waste and unload it from the truck.
There is a fire extinguisher in each truck, but there is also a concrete pad at the back of the facility where trucks can be hosed off.
Drivers Destiny Miller and Laura Rausch Anderson understand how common it is for people to not know the proper way to throw away their vapes.
“Most people I know just throw it in the trash, and we just end up cycling it” Rausch Anderson said. “And if the blade hits it just right, those things do just explode.”
A vape store owner explained that there are two types of vapes.
One type has a removable battery. You can throw that vape away with regular trash as long as you remove the battery first.
Another has a built-in battery and should be treated as hazardous waste when ready to be tossed.
In Lincoln, you can drop it off at the Lincoln Hazardous Waste Center, and you can also schedule a pickup.
Drivers at Uribe Refuse attend monthly training sessions where they can learn from each other’s experiences with this problem.
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