Trash Truck Fires Rage In Riverside County, E-Waste Cited

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Another trash truck fire was reported this week in Southwest Riverside County, this time in Lake Elsinore.

The fire was reported at 10:04 a.m. Friday in the 31000 block of Kansas Street. When firefighters arrived on scene, the truck was fully involved in smoke and flames, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department spokesperson April Newman.

No injuries were reported.

Fire crews were expected to remain on scene until shortly before noon, according to Newman.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

CR&R services Lake Elsinore.

Patch reported on two other garbage truck fires in Southwest Riverside County this week.

On Thursday, a Waste Management trash truck fire was reported at approximately 9:51 a.m. in the 39800 block of Alta Murrieta Drive. It followed a separate CR&R garbage truck fire Monday around 10:30 a.m. on Interstate 215 in Murrieta that caused a traffic jam with closed freeway lanes.

Another trash truck fire occurred in Wildomar this week, although details were not immediately available.

The causes of the fires remain under investigation, but a spokesperson from CR&R said the blazes have become a regular occurrence mainly due to customers improperly throwing away electronic devices containing lithium-ion batteries.

"It's an industry-wide problem," explained CR&R Senior Regional Vice President Alex Braicovich.

Trucks that haul waste are installed with equipment that crushes and consolidates rubbish as it's picked up. Waste facilities and recycling plants use similar equipment.

The problem occurs when electronic devices containing lithium-ion batteries are mixed in with the trash, according to Braicovich. The batteries have a "high potential" to explode or catch fire when they are damaged during the crushing process and can start blazes by igniting the surrounding garbage in a truck's bin or at a facility. The batteries can also spark when they get hot or are defective.

"Lithium-ion batteries are in everything," Braicovich continued.

Cell phones, computers, power tools, kids' toys, drones and thousands of other products now contain lithium-ion batteries. When the products are no longer wanted, they become electronic- or e-waste, and should not be discarded in bins designed for household trash or recyclables like cans, bottles or paper.

Braicovich did not have figures on how many trucks CR&R has lost to these types of fires, but said "when we lose a truck, it's significant."

The truck involved in Monday's I-215 blaze was a $365,000 vehicle that's now sitting in the CR&R yard, he said.

Efforts have been underway at the legislative level to effect change. State Assembly Bill 2440, otherwise known as the Battery and Battery-Embedded Product Recycling and Fire Risk Reduction Act of 2022, is one such piece of legislation. If signed into law, it would prohibit a person from knowingly disposing of a lithium-ion battery in a container or receptacle that is intended for the collection of solid waste or recyclable materials, unless the container or receptacle is designated for battery collection.

AB 2440 is currently sitting in committee; a similar bill is awaiting action in the state Senate.

In the meantime, retailers who sell rechargeable batteries in California are required to provide consumers with a free system for returning these batteries for reuse, recycling or proper disposal.

Additionally, cities and the county do hold community clean-ups that provide for e-waste disposal. There are also businesses that specialize in e-waste recycling. A quick Google search of "e-waste near me" brings up dozens of companies across the county.

With the increased presence of lithium-ion batteries in products, Braicovich said community education about how to properly discard of e-waste is key.

"It starts in the home," he said.

In addition to lithium-ion batteries, waste agencies remind residents and businesses not to place any hazardous items into trash bins. Hazardous items include, but are not limited to:

• Used Motor Oil
• Solvents
• Batteries
• Cleaning Products
• Wood Preservative
• Old Paint
• Pesticides
• Pool Chemicals
• Printer Cartridges
• Old Road Flares
• Fluorescent Lights