{"id":98245,"date":"2020-10-26T20:04:18","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T17:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/zombie-cell-phone-batteries-are-causing-dumpster-fires\/"},"modified":"2020-10-26T20:04:18","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T17:04:18","slug":"zombie-cell-phone-batteries-are-causing-dumpster-fires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/zombie-cell-phone-batteries-are-causing-dumpster-fires\/","title":{"rendered":"#’Zombie’ cell phone batteries are causing dumpster fires\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#’Zombie’ cell phone batteries are causing dumpster fires\u00a0<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n As if their job isn\u2019t hard enough.<\/p>\n

Waste management workers are now doubling as first responders \u2014 as \u201czombie\u201d cellphone batteries, buried in heaps of trash, risk bursting into flames at any given moment.<\/p>\n

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have quickly become a $37 billion industry standard, according to Allied Market Research<\/a>, by powering a variety of electronics including mobile phones and tablets, laptops, watches, e-cigarettes and toothbrushes. While billed as more convenient and promoting sustainable lifestyles when compared with conventional battery counterparts, i.e. Duracell and Energizer, they\u2019re also known to be volatile under certain conditions, especially if they are broken, damaged or defected.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s becoming a dangerous problem for the global garbage collections industry.<\/p>\n

Jacob Hayler, executive director of the UK\u2019s Environmental Services Association, told the BBC<\/a> that a \u201cmajority\u201d of lithium-ion batteries are tossed in recycling bins \u2014 as opposed to especially designated electronic recycling centers, which accept a wide range of electronics using potentially dangerous or toxic components.<\/p>\n

\u201cFires caused by carelessly discarded zombie batteries endanger lives, cause millions of pounds of damage and disrupt waste services,\u201d said Hayler.<\/p>\n

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Take Charge Campaign<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unlike other commonly discarded fire hazards, such as aerosol cans or propane tanks, compact lithium-ion batteries are nearly impossible to spot in a heap of trash \u2014 and even the tiny battery that powers a \u201csinging\u201d greeting card is enough to light up. Overall, the number of fires at waste facilities throughout North America have increased by 26% from 2016 to 2019, according to an annual report<\/a> by fire detection services manufacturer Fire Rover. Ryan Fogelman, the company\u2019s vice president for strategic partnerships, blames the spike on improperly disposed lithium-ion batteries.<\/p>\n

Amy Adcox, general<\/a> manager of Republic Services, a waste processing plant in Plano, Texas, said discarded electronics \u201ckeeps me awake at night,\u201d she told the Verge<\/a>. Her plant has implemented concrete and metal fire walls to prevent flames that begin on their \u201ctipping floor,\u201d where the mountains of garbage are initially dumped by trucks. This is the point where most battery fires begin. Adcox also installed a Fire Rover heat-sensitive camera and an automated foam cannon to put out flames at a distance.<\/p>\n

Adcox learned from past disasters. In 2016, a facility in San Mateo County, Calif., endured a four-alarm fire caused by a lithium-ion battery that put the plant out of commission for four months. The fact that they were using a conveyer belt to transport waste throughout the building prompted a thorough fire spread.<\/p>\n

Bill Keegan, president of Dem-Con, a Minnesota-based waste and recycling management company, told the Verge, \u201cNationally we\u2019re losing about a facility a month, burned to the ground by battery fires.\u201d<\/p>\n