While the cause of two recent fires at the Glenmore Landfill has not been determined, the facilitysa国际传媒檚 operations manager has a pretty good idea of how they started.

sa国际传媒淲e do have fires pop up, itsa国际传媒檚 an issue in waste management,sa国际传媒� said Scott Hoekstra, manager of landfill and composting operations. sa国际传媒淧robably 80 per cent of the time the source is either a car battery or lithium batteries.sa国际传媒�

The fires occurred on July 10 and 19.

READ MORE: Glenmore Landfill fire in Kelowna extinguished, sa国际传媒榯ook most of the nightsa国际传媒�

READ MORE: Second fire in 9 days at Kelownasa国际传媒檚 Glenmore Landfill

Hoekstra added that people who think itsa国际传媒檚 fine to throw electronic devices in the trash, such as cell phones, mobile, and wireless Bluetooth devices, need to take them to a designated recycling centre.

sa国际传媒淪ome of it is education, some of it is people having to care enough. People have to know that itsa国际传媒檚 a problem and they have to take the time to manage it appropriately.sa国际传媒�

Even the smallest of devices can be hazardous, Hoekstra explained.

sa国际传媒淭wo years ago we had 500 or 600 e-cigs and vape pens mixed in a load, obviously from a shop that had been cleaning out, which started a small fire that was put out in a few minutes. We pulled all those out and managed them appropriately.sa国际传媒�

Hoekstra added that lithium batteries can be found in many things that people just donsa国际传媒檛 think about.

sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 a real challenge in the waste management industry.sa国际传媒�

Hoekstra said the Glenmore Landfill sees about eight small fires a year related to batteries and other items such as compressed and gas cylinders and propane tanks.

sa国际传媒淚n speaking with others in the industry of a similar size, they get a similar number as well. There are so many things that people put in these bins that potentially could be a fire starter.sa国际传媒�

While car batteries are accepted for free at the landfill, devices with lithium batteries are not. They need to be taken to an appropriate recycling centre.

Information on recycling lithium batteries and other household hazardous waste can be found on these websites:

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gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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