Batteries are a 'serious threat' in waste centres, the city says. Here's what to do with old electronics

Electronic waste is becoming a serious threat at Edmonton’s Waste Management Centre so the city is giving residents a reminder.

Spencer De Klerk with City of Edmonton Environmental Management and Supply joined CTV Morning Live’s Meteorologist Cory Edel to talk about the importance of keeping these items out of your household waste.

 

Cory Edel: It may be tempting to toss dead batteries or that vape pen into the trash; however, that poses a big safety risk. Let's start with batteries. Why is it important to keep these out of our household waste?

Spencer De Klerk: Batteries pose a serious threat for us at Waste Services right now. Every time we pick up a load, we have to compress the truck to get as much waste as possible in. When that happens, sometimes these batteries get disrupted and that actually causes fires. We also process the material over at the Waste Management Centre, so we take everybody's black bin garbage and turn it into an alternative fuel. When we process it, we also see a significant amount of fires out at the Waste Management Centre.

Cory: No matter what type of battery, there's lots of chemicals in there. If we can't throw them in the trash, where should we take them?

Spencer: We want to tape both ends of that battery, make sure we safely store them and take them to the Eco stations. You want to be very careful with your batteries at home. My mate just sent me a video where a dog's actually chewing on a battery pack and it started a household fire. You want to be super careful with where you store your phones and any of these batteries.

Cory: We have a double A and we've got this lithium battery. Maybe not so obvious in other places, things like e-pens.

Spencer: Yes, we've seen a lot of e-pens in the garbage. We've actually done a root cause analysis where we noticed that it was causing a few fires. I think a good rule of thumb is if it lights up, makes a noise or connects to Wi-Fi, and most likely has a battery in it, it needs to go to an Eco station.

Cory: Even the gift cards that you open up that make music?

Spencer: Absolutely. I despise those gift cards. They have to be disposed of properly because they also have batteries in them.

Cory: What are some other things that we can take to the Eco centre?

Spencer: Anything electronic. Whether it's laptops, computers, your tumble dryers, your wash machines. We like reusing a lot of that stuff, but if we can't reuse it, we send it to recyclers across the country. They do a phenomenal job of creating that circular economy by retrieving the precious metals within those compositions.

Cory: So, you've got the cell phones, but all the cords that go with that. Those can really beat up the system as well?

Spencer: Absolutely. You want to take all your cords to the Eco station with your electronic goods. One good thing to note as well is, on top of Eco stations, there's also a lot of grocery stores and home department stores that take these batteries as well.

Cory: If people want that information, it's on your website?

Spencer: Absolutely. Edmonton.ca.

Cory: Perfect. Is there anything electronic that you guys can't take?

Spencer: No, we take it all. Get your e-waste to the Eco stations. We'll make sure they find a good home and continue creating a sustainable future for future generations.