Enlarge / A safety seminar on lithium-ion batteries from May 2022 illustrates what happens when you subject charged batteries to pressure or puncture—or both. (credit: Getty Images)
A firm that handles returned Amazon electronics has agreed to pay a $25,000 fine after lithium-ion batteries it threw away caused at least three different garbage truck fires.
iDiskk, LLC, based in San Jose, California, agreed to a settlement with the district attorney of Santa Clara County in late November over civil charges regarding improper waste disposal, as noted by E-Scrap News. The company, according to the district attorney’s office, “dismantles, recycles, and disposes of consumer computer electronics that are returned through Amazon, some of which contain lithium-ion batteries.”
On three different dates in 2021—September 22, October 6, and October 13—trucks picked up residential waste from iDiskk’s office address in Campbell, California. A Google Street View look at the address shows a home with a driveway and garage on a tree-lined street. Dozens of lithium-ion batteries were included with typical recycling materials, allowing them to be crushed and compressed with other waste. “In each case, the … garbage truck driver ejected the truck’s load,” the initial complaint reads, and the cause was found to be batteries.
Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Source: Ars Technica – Trashed lithium-ion batteries caused three garbage truck fires in California