Wild reason this Perth street is piled with rubbish

Wild scenes have unfolded on a suburban Australian street after residents woke up to find rubbish all over the road.

A garbage truck driver was forced to dump an entire load of rubbish onto a suburban street after his vehicle went up in flames.

Emergency crews swiftly attended the fiery scene in Padbury, a suburb north west of Perth, on Tuesday and doused the flames before the situation got worse.

Thankfully, no injuries or damage was reported.

The blaze was caused by batteries that were found in a discarded keyboard, which was tossed inside a resident’s wheelie bin.

Lithium batteries should not be thrown in the normal bin, as they contain harmful chemicals and can be flammable.

The error forced the truck driver to dump all the rubbish on to the street in accordance with ‘standard industry practice’.

The street was littered with a huge pile of rubbish. Picture: Facebook

The pile of rubbish was reportedly removed two hours after the accident occurred, however it is not clear who cleaned it up.

Shocking pictures of the incident shared on social media show rubbish left piled up on the road opposite several homes.

One of the snaps shows the burnt-out black keyboard that caused the fire.

A spokesperson from the City of Joondalup Council warned residents not to dump electronic waste with the rest of their household rubbish.

“Lithium batteries and items are generally too small to identify within a load,” they told the Daily Mail.

“The driver’s vigilant behaviour and subsequent action saved this from becoming a more serious incident.”

More than 3300 tonnes of lithium-ion battery waste is generated annually, according to recent figures.

Lithium batteries inside the keyboard are said to have started the blaze. Picture: Facebook

These kind of household batteries contain toxic substances and minerals such as mercury, cadmium and lead, and can contaminate land and groundwater if they end up in landfill.

They need to be placed in bins designed for their disposal or should be discarded in battery recycling centres, which many states around the country now have.

Back in February 2023, Sydney locals were shocked to find a busy CBD street smothered by a massive pile of rubbish.

Garbage truck drivers were forced to dump the rubbish in Haymarket after they noticed smoke furling from the rear of the vehicle.

Jumping into action, the drivers offloaded the rubbish on Hay St, obstructing light rail tracks and afternoon traffic.

Batteries need to be disposed of properly. Picture: iStock

However, dumping the rubbish did not help extinguish the blaze – instead, the fire reignited, sending smoky fumes into the air.

Firefighters were called to the inner-city street at about 3.20pm after the pile continued to smoulder.

A City of Sydney spokesperson said the fire was likely caused by a lithium battery.

“We continue to urge residents not to dispose of batteries in their general rubbish bins,” they said.

“Batteries become volatile when compacted and can start fires.”

Residents are advised they can drop off small batteries at recycling stations in customer service centres, libraries, community and recreation centres.

Originally published as Wild reason this Perth street is piled with rubbish