Fire alarms sound off

Known fires in 2018 at waste and recycling facilities in North America is the focus of a new report by Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Fire Rover, while mobile phone battery recycling service Call2Recycle has issued a new list looking at lithium-ion battery handling practices in the U.S. Lithium-ion batteries are commonly discovered to be the source of waste and recycling plant fires.

Fire Rover in mid-February made available its “2018 Annual Reported Waste & Recycling Facility Fires U.S. & Canada.” The company’s Ryan Fogelman, in a LinkedIn post containing the report, says that after three years of tracking such fires, “I  now have the baseline data required to understand and evaluate trends, and to make my best-ever recommendations to combat industry fire problems.”

Those in the waste and recycling sectors seeking a PDF version of the full report can request one from Fogelman at rfogelman@firerover.com.  

Fogelman says dry, hot summer weather and built-up inventories because of Chinese government restrictions contributed to 2018’s fires, but lithium-ion batteries were a common culprit. He refers to a California Products Stewardship Council (CPSC) survey that found that 65 percent of reported waste and recycling facility fires were caused by batteries.

A list compiled by Atlanta-based Call2Recycle focuses on what that group found to be the top 10 battery recycling states in 2018 based on Call2Recycle per capita program participation. Vermont topped the list, followed by Delaware, Georgia, Minnesota, California, Illinois, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.

“Batteries (especially rechargeable or lithium-ion ones) that are trashed or improperly recycled can contain a residual charge, potentially resulting in fires that can damage recycling facilities or personal property and pollute the environment,” states Call2Recycle.

Continues the group, “A recent OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] bulletin warns employers and workers of potential fire and explosion hazards stemming from lithium batteries, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Status Report on High Energy Density Batteries Project found more than 25,000 overheating or fire incidents – involving more than 400 types of lithium battery-powered products – occurred between January 2012 and July 2017.”

Call2Recycle cited as contributing factors to states that ranked high on its list “strong participation from manufacturers along with public collection networks (municipalities and retailers).” Adds the group, “A surge in the removal and management of damaged batteries from the market and education awareness efforts also complemented collection efforts.”