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Republic Services urges residents to recycle correctly after lithium battery fires, highlights bulky-pickup and hazardous-waste options
Summary
Republic Services representatives told the City of Lake Havasu City on June 6 that proper recycling cuts landfill use and prevents fires caused by lithium batteries; the company described local recycling flows, bulky-pickup rules, and hazardous household waste days.
Jay Markle, general manager for Republic Services in Lake Havasu City, told attendees at a city "Coffee with the Mayor and City Manager" event on June 6 that local recycling is an active, off-site process, and that improper items put into curbside recycling contaminate entire truckloads.
“The recycling facility that Republic Services uses when they truck that 50 tons of recycling up to Las Vegas is that it's a state of the art system,” Markle said, and added that contamination can render a whole truckload unusable: “if I were to put in, something that should be trash in the recycling bin ... that whole truckload is contaminated.”
Republic Services’ operations manager Chris Klein warned about lithium batteries and their hazard when compacted. “Lithium batteries ... spark in our trucks when we're compacting the trash, and we have truck fires and landfill fires,” Klein said, and added that since January 1 the company documented three landfill fires and two truck fires it could link to lithium batteries.
The company said local recycling is single-stream: residents place paper, plastic and glass in a single curbside bin (blue lid), which is compacted locally, taken to a material recovery facility and then trucked to a processing/polymers facility in Las Vegas for sorting and downstream recycling. Markle said Republic Services hauls about 50 tons a day from Lake Havasu City to Las Vegas and runs three trucks dedicated to that route.
Republic Services and city staff also reviewed local options for items that should not go in curbside recycling: lithium batteries and e-cigarette batteries should be brought to hazardous household-waste events or to retail take-back points. Klein said retailers such as Home Depot and Target accept some batteries. Markle and Klein said the city and contractor expanded hazardous household-waste events from one day a year to two and advised residents to hold hazardous items for those events when possible.
On bulky items, Republic Services said curbside bulky pickups are available on a scheduled basis and that residents should call the company rather than discard large items outdoors. The company noted a standard allotment of curbside bulky pickups but said operators will be flexible for occasional overage; Republic Services also offers an extra-can subscription for a fee (about $7 per extra can per month, attendees were told).
Residents at the meeting raised concerns about long lines at hazardous-waste events and operational consistency. Mayor and Republic Services staff said they are working to improve operations and that some event staff are volunteers. Republic Services encouraged residents to follow written recycling instructions on cart lids and to put recyclables in untied trash bags if they prefer to bag them, so sorters can open them during processing.
The city recommended that residents take household oil to auto parts stores that accept used oil, and that grocery-store plastic bags be returned to retailers for special collection.
Ending: Republic Services asked residents to report service issues via the city website or the company’s customer line and to use hazardous-waste events and retail take-back options for batteries and other prohibited items. The company emphasized that correct recycling reduces landfill growth and prevents costly fires and equipment damage.
