Garbage fire a smelly warning to sort your trash

Campaspe Shire Council director of sustainability Michael Sharp said council staff attended the scene to investigate the fire.

“Council staff have attended the clean-up and were unable to identify the exact ignition source,” he said.

“Council will seek to review the footage from the kerbside truck to attempt to identify the fire's cause.”

Mr Sharp explained that these fires were typically caused by improperly discarded items such as lithium-ion batteries from phones or laptops, and other hazardous materials not suitable for kerbside collection.

Items which cannot go into a kerbside bin include:

To improve waste management practices, the council has ramped up its educational efforts across the shire.

This includes distributing a handy Quick Sort Guide fridge magnet to every household, offering an easy reference for correct bin usage.

Mr Sharp said the council offered free disposal of e-waste at all resource recovery centres.

“It was sad to see that there were various e-waste items in the pile of burnt waste,” he said.

To find out more details on what can and can’t be placed in kerbside bins, visit the council website.