Gold Coast Council bin warning after rubbish trucks catch fire
Gold Coast City Council said batteries in bins were to blame for the blazes, which broke out after rubbish was loaded into the truck and compacted.
'Batteries do NOT belong in your bin. When crushed, they can spark, explode and start dangerous fires,' the council said in a post to Facebook.
Wild images of one blaze show a massive pile of flaming trash dumped in a car park, with firefighters drenching the mess in a bid to extinguish the fire.
Another image shows a stack of batteries badly burned and melted together.
The Gold Coast has seen seven bin fires in May alone. Picture: Facebook
The local council has said batteries are to blame for the blazes, and urged residents to dispose of the common item properly. Picture: Facebook
The fires result in entire loads of garbage having to be dumped on the road. Picture: Facebook
The Council also shared an image of a large burn mark on a garbage truck, with the sticker on the side of the vehicle melting away.
Queensland Fire Department Superintendent Mark Halverson told ABC even dead batteries posed a huge risk.
'Even if a battery appears to be flat, there's almost always some amount of energy that remains within it,' he said.
'When that energy becomes exposed, there's obviously a lot of other combustibles in the truck and plenty of oxygen, so a very good opportunity for a fire to commence.'
The Queensland government has committed millions in funding to help address the growing issue. Picture: Facebook
In February, the Queensland state government announced $2 million to fund a 'bin blaze ban', noting battery fires had more than doubled since 2020.
The funding would help increase access to battery disposal collection points, reducing fire risks to protect workers and essential waste services and educate residents about the risks of incorrectly disposed of batteries.
'Battery fires have more than doubled over the past five years, an unacceptable upward trend that simply must end,' Environment Minister Andrew Powell said at the time.
People looking to dispose of their batteries are encouraged to use a special drop off point, which can be located at bcycle.com.au.
Hannah Moore
Chief of staff, NCA NewsWire
Hannah Moore is NCA NewsWire's chief of staff. She was previously the morning news editor at news.com.au. When she's not reading or talking about the news, Hannah is looking for another coffee.
@hannahrlmoore
Hannah Moore
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
12 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Measles alert issued across NT airports, tourism hotspots
Northern Territory health authorities have issued a measles alert after a man travelled through multiple tourism hotspots before ending up in hospital in north Queensland. NT Health issued the alert on Saturday morning, warning anyone who was on tourism trips in the state, at restaurant in Kakadu National Park, or travelled through Darwin or Alice Springs Airports on specific dates in July to be alert for measles symptoms. These include a fever, sore eyes, a runny nose, a cough, and a blotchy red rash. 'Check your vaccination status,' an NT Health spokesperson said. 'Measles is highly contagious but preventable with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine.' Health authorities suspect the man who travelled while infectious acquired measles in Indonesia. 'The NT Centre for Disease Control is urging Territorians to be alert following confirmation of a measles case who travelled through Darwin and Alice Springs while infectious,' the alert reads. 'The individual, likely infected overseas, visited multiple public locations in the NT between July 17 and 23.' NT Health says the man was likely infectious when he went on an all-day tour with Ethical Adventures in Litchfield National Park on July 17. The next day, he left for an overnight tour with AAPT Kings Jabiru, and was at the Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel in Jabiru from 6pm to 8pm on July 18. The measles alert does not account for his movements the next two days, but the next listed location is the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, from 1pm to 3pm on July 20. It is believed the man then went to Darwin Airport at 3.30pm and flew to Alice Springs on Qantas flight QF1960, arriving at 7pm. On Wednesday, July 23, the man flew from Alice Springs to Cairns on Air North flight TL361. 'Anyone who attended these locations during these times should monitor for symptoms … Symptoms can take up to 18 days after exposure to develop,' the alert said. 'The vaccine is safe and effective, and available from your GP, local health centre, Aboriginal health clinic, and vaccinating pharmacies.'
ABC News
42 minutes ago
- ABC News
WA Liberal Party State Council supports call to abandon net zero, reduce Welcome to Country ceremonies
The WA Liberal Party has supported a motion to abandon a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, putting added pressure on Australian Opposition Leader Sussan Ley to abandon the policy for the federal party. Delegates at the WA Liberal State Council also approved a motion to get rid of the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islands flags behind the prime minister at press conferences and cut back on Welcome to Country ceremonies. It is understood both motions were carried with an overwhelming show of support when they were read out and without needing to go to a ballot. The behind-closed-doors meeting was held at a hotel in federal MP Andrew Hastie's electorate of Canning, one of only four seats the Liberals now hold in WA. Labor increased its dominance in the state after the May federal election, winning 11 seats, while independent Kate Chaney retained Curtin. As Ms Ley and the party weigh up how to claw back those and other seats around the country, she has ordered a review of the Liberals' energy and emissions reduction policy. The WA Liberal Party's move has thrown open the debate on net zero within the Coalition, with Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce proposing a private members bill to dump the policy. Grassroots Liberals have been making their views known to the parliamentary party, with the South Australian Liberal State Council already abandoning net zero and the Queensland Liberal National Party also due to decide on the matter. The motion at the WA State Council on Saturday was put forward by the Canning Division, in Mr Hastie's seat. It said the WA division of the Liberal Party called on the federal Liberal opposition to abandon the target of net zero by 2050 and to reform "the legislated net zero incentives, subsidies and penalties". It said it wanted the party to "affirm (a) commitment to clean energy, but not at the expense of Australia's economic and national security". Further, the motion called on the federal opposition to "harness Australia's natural abundance of coal, gas and uranium in the generation of stable, reliable and affordable power for all Australians". The motion said its positions should be adopted in light of the fact the three countries responsible for more than 50 per cent of the world's carbon emissions — China, the United States and India — "have no intention of meeting Net Zero by 2050". It also said "attempts to decarbonise Australia are destabilising our energy grid, forcing up power prices and damaging our national and economic security". The WA Liberal Party's Policy Committee put up the motion on the flags and Welcome to Country ceremonies. It called on the federal opposition to adopt a policy where the only other flags, apart from the Australian national flag, to receive Commonwealth recognition should be those of others states and territories or of government institutions, such as the military. The motion also called on the opposition to remove official status for Welcome to Country ceremonies. "While they may originally have been well-intentioned, they are now often divisive and tokenistic and do little to improve the lives of our most disadvantaged Australians," it said.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Townsville businesses speak on public drunkenness as Queensland government looks to re-criminalise it
The Queensland government has flagged re-criminalising public drunkenness in a bid to curb what it says is a surge in antisocial behaviour, less than a year after it was decriminalised. Queensland became the final state in Australia to decriminalise public drunkenness, more than 30 years after it was first recommended by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Premier David Crisafulli this week held a forum in the largest city in north Queensland — Townsville — a city he once described as crime ground-zero to listen to community concerns. A walk down Townsville's main street paints a nuanced picture, with views mixed among business operators and community leaders on how best to make the CBD safer and more attractive to visitors. It's a quiet weekday afternoon when foot traffic should be busy. Shop owner Lucy Downes said she now worked seven days a week because it was harder to find staff wanting to work in the CBD. "It is not a family-friendly environment when you have people brawling and yelling," Ms Downes said. "Especially when there's substance abuse involved. That can be intimidating and scary for staff to witness." Ms Downes backed the state government's move to possibly re-criminalise public drunkenness, but said harsh punishment was not the solution to substance abuse. "It is a very complicated problem … it's good to look towards the bigger picture," she said. When public drunkenness was decriminalised last year, it brought Queensland into line with every other state and territory. The legislative change allowed for an intoxicated person to be taken to a place of safety. But, walking into a meeting with community and business leaders, Mr Crisafulli said it was a retrograde step. "We certainly won't be ruling [re-criminalising] out." Queensland Police statistics show that while the total number of crimes in Townsville has risen steadily over the past 10 years, good order offences, including public nuisance offences, have dropped. Business owners stressed the CBD was still a good place to visit and that police had been working hard recently to keep order. Pauline Jackson said she felt safe at the newsagency she had run on Townsville's Flinders Street for 18 years. Ms Jackson said criminalising public drunkenness would discourage people from poor behaviour. She said more consistent policing was needed. "As soon as you drop it off, antisocial behaviour comes back," she said. "It does keep people away." Marg Cox is often greeted by the smell of urine on her morning walk to her job as the operator of a sandwich shop on Flinders Street. Ms Cox said practical solutions were the best approach. "They need more public toilets in the city; the closest toilet is over the bridge, not in the area," Ms Cox said. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service principal legal officer Greg Shadbolt warned any move to bring back public intoxication laws would target the state's most marginalised people. The service said 2020–2021 statistics demonstrated Queensland Police were 11 times more likely to pursue public order offences against Indigenous people compared to the rest of the population. "If the park is your home and you're not doing anything wrong, other than just drinking, you could potentially be arrested," he said. "If anyone does make a nuisance of themselves in the public arena, police can still arrest them for a whole plethora of charges." Birrigubba elder and academic Gracelyn Smallwood said outlawing public drunkenness would be a backward step, risking more Aboriginal deaths in custody. "I think it's absolutely ridiculous," Professor Smallwood said. Professor Smallwood said alcohol abuse should never be dealt with by locking people up. "All the organisations, Indigenous and non-Indigenous that are receiving money for drunkenness and homelessness should all be collaborating," she said. Additional consultation sessions are being planned for Townsville, Maryborough, Cairns and Mackay.
