


recycling – what goes in which bin, what actually gets recycled, and what we can do to make sure our recycling doesn’t go into the trash heap. We kicked it off with a tour of the intake building and a short lecture on garbage vs. We learned a truckload and got to see an amazing view of over fifty years of trash. This field trip actually stunk a lot less than I’d anticipated. If I were invited again, I would not refuse. The massive hills of garbage are really astounding. It’s something not everyone gets to see in their lives. I highly recommend setting up a dump or recycling plant tour in your area. More information for Hillsborough County residents can be found at this link.Learn about Garbage and Recycling on a field trip to your county dump! He too encourages residents to use the county’s various drop-off sites. Hillsborough County Solid Waste, though, has documented two garbage truck-load fires in the past year due to improper disposal, according to Collection Manager Damien Tramel. According to Pinellas County, those batteries can explode when compressed and should be brought to the county’s collection sites for hazardous materials. While the Pinellas County Department of Solid Waste hasn’t suffered a similar fire in recent memory, a spokesperson said the county nearly did when an improperly discarded rechargeable battery was accidentally run over by heavy equipment at the waste disposal complex. More information can be found at this link. He said the incidents could have impacted the entire city’s pick-up schedule, which is why Pickrum hopes the city’s solid waste customers will do the right thing with flammable, hazardous waste and dispose of it at Pinellas County’s various collection locations or events. Runs in spurts.”Ĭitronella tiki torch fuel was blamed for a separate garbage truck fire just one week later in the back of the same truck. “Unfortunately, it happens,” said Pickrum. “It could be the flammables from the everyday household chemicals, which you typically store underneath the kitchen sink,” said Pickrum.Īccording to Pickrum, the fire on July 19 was sparked by discarded gasoline stored in two laundry detergent bottles, and that garbage truck fire was not the only one Dunedin has experienced. Those hazardous materials include stuff like fuels and accelerants, propane tanks, pool chemicals, lithium-ion batteries, auto/marine batteries, paint products, yard products, antifreeze, household chemicals, and mercury-containing items.

Some people are throwing away flammable materials that don’t belong in the curbside garbage carts. To Pickrum, the scary incident highlights a problem. He exited the truck, got the fire extinguisher, and extinguished it all within two minutes.” “He detected it,” said Bill Pickrum, the City of Dunedin’s Solid Waste Division Director. The truck’s onboard cameras captured the close call and the driver’s quick response.
#Garbage truck videos for kids driver#
As the driver of a Dunedin garbage truck compacted a load of trash on July 19, flames ignited in the back of his truck.
