Common items such as laptops, phones and toys contain lithium-ion batteries, which can explode if compressed or punctured during waste collection.
These items can be disposed of for free at the Shepparton, Ardmona and Murchison resource recovery centres.
Council manager resource recovery Liam Moller said lithium-ion batteries were “the most common form of household hazardous waste”, and they could be found in “many small electronics we use today”.
“Many batteries are highly sensitive to temperature changes and can easily catch fire when disposed of in household bins,” he said.
“Fires can also ignite in the collection vehicles and at transfer stations, where batteries can come into contact with flammable waste, posing a serious risk to the safety of our staff and community.”
Statistics show 97 per cent of household batteries in Australia end up in landfill, amounting to more than 8000 tonnes annually.
Batteries contain eco-toxic metals including nickel, cadmium, lead and mercury that can contaminate soil and groundwater when disposed of in landfill.
“Many of these elements can be recovered and used to make new batteries if they are collected for recycling and processed correctly,” Mr Moller said.
“All batteries need to be disposed of properly and safely.”
For more information, go to greatershepparton.com.au/batteries
For opening hours and more information about the resource recovery centres, go to greatershepparton.com.au/resource-recovery-centres
