The town of Morrisville is reminding residents to avoid throwing away prohibited items after a fire was started during bulk item pickup on Monday.
Morrisville's public works director said a GFL Environmental waste management worker noticed smoldering in the back compactor of his truck in the Preston Meadow View neighborhood. He pulled over and dumped out the contents of the truck at the direction of his supervisor to prevent a larger fire.
Other WRAL Top Stories
When the fire was extinguished, GFL Environmental and the Morrisville Fire Department were not able to determine what started it, but they suspect it was a lithium-ion battery.
"It's really important with bulk item pickup and garbage collection in general, is to not be putting batteries, specifically lithium batteries and other household hazardous waste, so thinking like oils, chemicals, paints, old propane tanks, that should all stay out of the waste stream," said Matt Wetherell, Morrisville's public works director.
Morrisville holds two Green Day events a year, where residents can bring hazardous materials like lithium-ion batteries for free recycling. People in Wake County can also bring items to specific collection sites.
"It's really important for people to be following how they treat household hazardous waste. It keeps hazardous chemicals out of our landfill, and the big thing is it helps mitigate and prevent fires like this from occurring on the street, so collection can occur safely," said Wetherell.