Live ammunition, other hazardous materials left in residential recycling

Dangerous surprises inside recycling bins They're meant for household paper and plastic, but all sorts of dangerous objects are showing up in blue recycling bins.

In the wake of seven fires at recycling collectors and processors throughout the province this year, Recycle BC is pleading with homeowners to not put dangerous items in their blue bins.

“Earlier this month a resident put 58 rounds of live ammunition into their recycling,” said David Lefebvre, director of public affairs for Recycle BC. “We need people to think before they put something that is potentially explosive and deadly into a recycling bin.”

Recycle BC audits found two-thirds of container loads had hazardous materials present in 2019, a 47 per cent increase over the last five years. Those materials include: butane and propane canisters, batteries (especially lithium-ion batteries), compressed gases, ammunition, knives and bear spray.

“Hazardous materials have a significant impact on our staff. We are concerned about their safety and the potential for someone to be injured or worse,” said Alisa Murray, health and safety coordinator at Cascades Recovery.

“They can cause explosions and fires, and most of these incidents are caused by residents placing items such as lithium-ion batteries and propane or butane canisters into the residential recycling,” Lefebvre added.

Across North America, the industry saw a 26 per cent increase in the number of fires in waste and recycling facilities in 2018, with 371 unique incidents reported between February 2018 and January 2019. The risk of fires or explosions is especially high for material collection vehicles and receiving facilities, due to large amounts of paper.

“Sorting and recycling processes are fast-paced, with material constantly getting moved, compacted, and crushed,” said Oleg Vinokurov, industrial engineering manager at Green by Nature. “A recycling baler can develop pressures of hundreds of pounds per square inch. Compacted at these pressures, any compressed gas cylinder becomes a potential bomb for our employees.”

Recycle BC says residents should dispose of hazardous materials properly, which means many of these items should not only be kept out of the residential packaging and paper recycling system, but also out of the waste system as well. For information on where to dispose of them, contact the Recycling Council of British Columbia at www.rcbc.ca or 604-732-9253 (Lower Mainland) / 1-800-667-4321 (toll-free).