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MCSWMA reminds public of hazardous waste dangers

Brad Austin

MARQUETTE — The Marquette County Solid Waste Management Authority recently sent out an alert letter to area municipalities urging them to remind residents of the dangers of hazardous waste.

A hot load was determined to be the cause of a fire at the Marquette County Landfill on Dec. 3, and MCSWMA encountered another scare at the landfill recently.

“As you all know, we had a landfill fire at MCSWMA in December 2020,” MCSWMA Director of Operations Brad Austin wrote in the letter. “Fortunately, no staff members were injured, and we avoided any major environmental issues. The cause of this fire was a suspected hot load.

“On Feb. 3, 2021, one of our landfill operators identified a bag of waste that was on fire while processing a load of solid waste. The load was from a nursing home delivered via a private hauler. Upon investigation, a bag of waste within the load ignited when ran over by the landfill compactor.

“The bag contained four lithium-ion batteries. The damaged batteries were the cause of the fire. The fire was extinguished, and no injury/damage occurred to our staff, the landfill or equipment.”

Austin continued the letter highlighting the hazards of lithium-ion batteries, noting that they should be left out of residential and business recycling streams and should instead be disposed of through MCSWMA’s household hazardous waste program.

“Lithium-ion batteries are found in cell phones, laptops, E-cigarettes, scooters, smoke alarms, toys and some vehicles,” the letter continued.

“Fire hazards arise when these batteries are damaged. Ultimately, we want to capture these items at the source (residential/business) and keep them out of the residential/business waste and recycling streams (curbside bins or business dumpsters).

“The Authority offers recycling options for all battery types including lithium-ion through our household hazardous waste (HHW) program. In addition, we offer a residential E-waste drop off. We accept these items year-round. Recycling options are available to businesses via manufacturers programs and others. We can help facilitate these activities.”

For more information on safe recycling and solid waste procedures, visit recycle906.com or call MCSWMA at 906-249-4125 with any questions.

Ryan Spitza can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248. His email address is rspitza@miningjournal.net.

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