Safe Disposal Needed

Residents are being urged to dispose of unwanted and out-of-date chemicals and batteries in a safe and correct manner after one of The Hills Shire Council’s garbage trucks caught fire.

While the incident is still under investigation, the likely cause is due to the incorrect disposal of hazardous waste, such as a lithium battery.

Council is urging residents to be careful about what they put in their red, yellow and green lidded bin and take advantage of this weekend’s Household Chemical CleanOut.

Single-use batteries and rechargeable batteries found in phones or laptops, as well as light globes and ink cartridges, cannot be thrown out with regular waste. They must be disposed of in a safe and correct manner to prevent fires and environmental contamination.

Hills Shire residents can drop-off unwanted and out-of-date chemical products from their homes at the free Household Chemical Cleanout Event on Saturday, November 20 and Sunday, November 21 at Castle Hill Showground between 9am to 3.30pm, on both days.

Common household items for collection include paint and paint related products, pesticides and herbicides, poisons, solvents and household cleaners, motor oils, fuels and fluids, batteries, gas bottles, fire extinguishers, pool chemicals, acids and alkalis, hobby chemicals and florescent tubes.

For more information on the Chemical CleanOut Event, visit The Hills Shire Council website: www.thehills.nsw.gov.au/Services/For-Residents/Waste-Recycling/Where-to-recycle-household- items.

This project is an NSW Environment Protection Authority, Waste Less Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy.