LEWISTON, N.Y. — There is a growing problem of lithium-ion batteries being found in trash and recycling. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it could be deadly.

What You Need To Know

  • Modern Disposal had two truck fires in two weeks due to lithium-ion batteries

  • Trucks compact trash and recycling, that can cause an explosion

  • Batteries hit by large machines at the recycling plant have a thermal reaction

“We always start with the pre-trip inspection, ensuring our truck is working properly," said Kyle Bowser, lead driver at Modern Disposal. "We won't be spilling any liquids out in the community or anything like that.”

However, no safety checks could have prevented the smoke from billowing out of Bowser’s recycling truck.

“Driving down the road, started noticing, some smoke just a little bit," Bowser recalled. "We were, it was kind of one of those things where you're not sure if it's actually happening or not."

Bowser had been on the road for a couple of hours, unloading about 200 totes.

“You know, you just get something that, catches inside and it goes up pretty quickly,” Bowser said.

That something was a lithium-ion battery.

“And then it got ejected out,” Bowser said. “And we do that just because for my safety and the community's safety. And then, we call it call 911 immediately. You know, you can try and extinguish yourself. We have two fire extinguishers in the truck, but sometimes they just get so big.”

Bowser has been a driver for Modern Disposal for five years.

“Just the one,” Bowser said when asked about how many truck fires he’s experienced.

His truck fire, one of two, in a matter of weeks right before the holidays. But they weren’t the first or second fires Modern has seen.

“So what you see behind me is a truck that caught on fire July 5, 2023,” said Dennis Moriarty, vice president of operations at Modern Disposal.

It’s a day Moriarty will never forget.

“We were typically on scene there for close to six to eight hours,” he recalled.

Thankfully the crew walked away unharmed — a miracle considering the intensity of the flames.

“All of the hydraulics and all the other mechanical applications were useless at that point. So we couldn't get the load off the truck,” Moriarty said.

So their plea to you is to stop throwing out or recycling batteries.

“They are in everything," Moriarty said. "They're in cell phones, laptops, electronic devices, cars. Right? And for the most part, they're safe.”

But not in a truck.

“You put a battery in a truck, it's a compact vehicle, so it's compacting it,” Moriarity explained.

Or in the recycling facility.

“You have big pieces of equipment that are driving around crushing batteries,” he continued. “That creates a thermal reaction.”

It's putting lives in danger.

“Please help us be safe,” Bowser said. “You know, it's, I do this job because I have a serving heart, and I like to serve people. So, I like going home to my family as much as everybody else.”

So where do the batteries go? You can head to Call2Recycle's website. Type in your zip code and it will populate a list for you. Places like Walmart, Lowes, The Home Depot and Walgreens will collect them from you.

Do your normal batteries pose a risk? Not as much, because they won’t essentially explode, but there is a fire risk. They are asking for no batteries at all in your totes.