The recent fire at Kempsey Waste Management Centre (WMC) on Crescent Head Road may have been caused by inappropriate items being disposed of in bins going to landfill.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Several fire trucks and excavators were required to extinguish the landfill fire that shut down the waste facility on Friday, June 14.
The costly incident serves a timely reminder to our community to never dispose of anything flammable, corrosive, explosive or toxic in public place bins, home or business kerbside-collected bins, commercial skip bins, transfer station skip bins or the WMC's landfill sorting pit. This includes items that can start a landfill fire such as batteries, flares and gas bottles. Items that could make landfill fires even more dangerous, like chemicals, oils, paints and radioactive smoke detectors.
Council's Coordinator Waste Services, Gavin Hughes, said staff had also recently discovered live ammunition in the public sorting pit and a box of old explosives in a delivered load to landfill that could have been compacted with devastating consequences.
"Inconsiderate waste disposal can put people's health at risk and can cost our community a lot to deal with," Mr Hughes said.
Batteries, oils, paints, gas bottles and smoke detectors are all household problem wastes this WMC site accepts free of charge in its Community Recycling Centre (CRC).
The mobile CRC trailer also collects these items around our Shire on a regular schedule to make it even easier for people to do the right thing and safely dispose of these wastes.
Visit www.kempsey.nsw.gov.au/crc for more information about household problem waste and to find out when the mobile CRC trailer will next be at a location near you. You can also contact Council Customer Services on 6566 3200.
