Rumpke: Recycling batteries causes fires

After an uptick of fires at the area’s recycling facility, Rumpke Waste & Recycling is asking people to properly dispose of batteries and other hazardous materials.

So far, 38 out of 44 fires reported at Rumpke’s sorting facility in Columbus this year were caused by lithium ion batteries.

“We see hundreds go to our plant every week. Our team members do a great job of pulling them out. But with lithium ion batteries, they can be pretty small. So it’s kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack. Unfortunately, we’re not always able to pull them off the line,” said Gayane Makaryan, a corporate communications manager for Rumpke. “Once a lithium ion battery is broken or cracked, it’s just a ticking time bomb.”

What are lithium ion batteries used for?

Lithium ion batteries are used in various items people may end up throwing away: DSLR cameras, watches, remote controls, handheld games and smoke detectors, according to the U.S. EPA. They’re also used in cellphones, toys, e-cigarettes, laptops and tablets. They can be shaped like small buttons, larger rectangular blocks, and other shapes and sizes.

To put this year’s 44 fires through Sept. 17 into context, there were 41 fires at Rumpke’s Columbus facility in all of 2020.

The warning comes ahead of the holiday season when “we usually see an uptick in batteries,” Makaryan said.

Here’s why you should not put batteries in the recycling

Batteries can cause fires on hauling trucks and in sorting facilities, putting workers at risk. Aside from safety concerns for workers, there’s also a financial cost. The company loses $1,000 every time the facility is shut down for 15 minutes.

Last week there was a massive fire in Las Vegas at a recycling sorting facility, which spread to a warehouse where bales of plastic and cardboard burned for hours.

“We issue these reminders because when we see a story like like the one in Las Vegas, we just get nervous,” Makaryan said.

Rumpke had a similar experience in 2012, when a fire ripped through a warehouse in Cincinnati.

When the facility was rebuilt, fire walls were added to section off portions of the warehouse between where materials are dumped off by trucks, where they are sorted and a staging area where materials are baled.

“Our inventory is limited to one to two days of produced bales. Meaning we do our best to ship today’s bales either today or tomorrow. So we’re not sitting on inventory, we’re trying to get that material out to end users,” she said. “We store our our bales in areas that are away from where we typically suspect fires to occur.”

Other items that can cause dangerous conditions include full aerosol cans, helium and propane tanks, and pool chemicals.

How do you properly dispose of lithium ion batteries and other hazardous materials?

To properly dispose of items, check with Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio to divert materials. And many times, electronics stores will accept batteries for recycling.

“Lithium ion batteries can also be taken to Verizon, Best Buy and Home Depot for recycling,” said Hanna Greer-brown, communications manager for SWACO. “Each battery should be placed in its own clear plastic bag or the battery terminals should be taped with clear packing or non-conductive electrical or duct tape. Make sure to keep the label visible so the battery type can be identified.”

SWACO will host a household hazardous waste drop-off event from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 2 at Kingston Center, 3226 Kingston Ave. in Grove City.

SWACO’S contractor, EEI Inc., also runs a Household Hazardous Waste Center located on the city’s North Side at 645 E. 8th Ave. For more information, call 614-294-1300.

What can you recycle in Franklin County?

The list of items is shorter than many people think. You can recycle:

h Paper and cardboard

h Plastic bottles, jugs and tubs – no other shapes

h Glass bottles and jars – no other shapes

h Metal cans (be sure to remove aerosol tips)

h Cartons

Not recyclable in Franklin County:

h Plastic bags

h Takeout and microwave meal containers

h Styrofoam

h Anything with food on it, like greasy pizza boxes

h Plastic cups and yogurt cups

h Egg cartons bharvilla@dispatch.com

SWACO At Rumpke’s sorting plant, optical scanners and other technology are used to help sort materials on conveyor belts, but batteries continue to pose safety hazards for the company.