Aussies reminder of bin faux pas people are forgetting

"I never thought it would be necessary to state, but…"

There are plenty of do’s and don’ts when it comes to what you can put in which bin. That’s the whole reason they have coloured lids!

But, one Melbourne local has taken to social media exposing a trend he thinks is becoming more common again - and it needs to stop.

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Image: Reddit.

“I never thought it would be necessary to state…”

A Melbourne local has taken to Reddit after spotting two bins that are almost entirely melted.

The fire - the poster inferred - had been started by a lit cigarette which had been carelessly thrown into one of them.

The confronting photo came along with a reminder - don’t do it.

“I never thought it would be necessary to state, but… don’t throw lit cigarettes in bins,” they said.

“This used to happen daily!”

Commenters on the post were shocked at the sight, noting how infrequent incidents like this have become since smoking has decreased in popularity.

“This used to happen daily back in the 00’s,” said one commenter.

“I was just thinking the other day that I've been seeing far fewer bin fires with the decline of smoking and rise of vaping,” another agreed.

Others noted the carelessness of whoever caused the incident to occur in the first place.

“The amount of people I’ve seen drop burning cigarettes on the ground and walk away is astounding,” said one commenter.

“The people who do stuff like this do not care of the consequences,” another agreed.

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Maybe it was something else…

However, some commenters suggested that the fire may not have been caused by a cigarette at all.

“Could be a lithium battery,” said one person.

Lithium-ion battery fires have increased drastically in recent years, with about one in every 100 fires attended by Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW) involving a lithium-ion battery or battery device as of March 2024.

This is primarily due to the flammable electrolytes and energy density of these batteries, which lead to rapid and difficult-to-extinguish fires.

Lithium-ion batteries, found commonly in all rechargeable devices, cannot be placed into home garbage or recycling bins.

FRNSW recommends that small, undamaged batteries (not swollen, punctured, or leaking, etc.) are instead safely disposed of at a battery recycling drop off point.

Originally published as Aussies reminder of bin faux pas people are forgetting