GILBERT, Ariz. — It’s stuff that you might not think twice about throwing away that the Town of Gilbert says is leading to garbage truck fires.
Four garbage trucks in Gilbert have caught fire so far this year and the town is now asking people to double check what’s getting thrown away in their bins to help keep it from happening again.
Chemical reactions
In 2021, the Town of Gilbert said it had a total of five garbage truck fires.
“It’s not something that happens a lot, but when it does happen it’s kind of a big deal,” said Mark Justus, deputy chief of training at Gilbert Fire Department.
Justus believes the fires are caused by what’s getting thrown away.
Chemicals, batteries, paint and more are causing things to mix in the garbage truck and catch fire.
“When your stuff combines with your neighbor stuff that could have a chemical reaction and cause tremendous amount of damage,” said Paul Montes, the town’s environmental services manager.
Gilbert garbage trucks are picking up between 500 and 600 bins before dropping their load and going out for more.
It’s the chemicals from those different bins that are mixing and can cause fires.
“It puts our operators in danger,” Montes said.
Fighting the fires
When those fires happen, the garbage truck operators have to find a safe spot to dump out their entire load.
“It’s safer to be out on the roadway than it is in the truck,” Montes said.
But that extra oxygen can fuel the fire.
“The chemicals that are in there, the dangers that are associated, we don’t even want to expose the citizens in the community to that stuff as it off-gasses while we put it out,” Justus said.
Overfilled bins can cause fires too
The Town of Gilbert is now asking people to give ashes 24 hours to cool down. Once they’re cool, they should be bagged and tied before being put into trash cans. If fireworks are being thrown away, the town said they should be soaked overnight before being placed into the trash can, also bagged and tied.
Another problem that can happen is overfilled trash bins can cause fires too.
“When your cans are overfilled, the lid’s open, a lot of that stuff tends to fall out on top of our engine, right behind the cab of the truck. And that material could catch on fire just from the heat of the engine itself,” Montes said.
Dispose of hazardous items properly
Items like batteries, fuels, fluids, chemicals, cleaners, cooking oil and more all should not be put into trash bins.
“If it’s not a natural, organic-occurring thing: food, waste, paper, there’s probably a better location for it,” Justus said. “And it’s probably not in the trash.”
Gilbert does have a place to take all hazardous items for free, called the Household Hazardous Waste Facility, near Greenfield and Queen Creek roads.
That facility accepts things that can’t be put into trash cans. A full list of what can and can’t be accepted is on the website. The facility is only open to Gilbert residents.
Municipal household hazardous waste disposal options are also available in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Glendale, Peoria, Tempe, Goodyear and Surprise, among other municipalities in the Valley.
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